Invention: Artificial Electromagnetic Sixth Sense

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71087-0.html

By Quinn Norton| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Jun, 07, 2006

What if, seconds before your laptop began stalling, you could feel the hard drive spin up under the load? Or you could tell if an electrical cord was live before you touched it? For the few people who have rare earth magnets implanted in their fingers, these are among the reported effects -- a finger that feels electromagnetic fields along with the normal sense of touch.

It's been described as a buzzing sensation, a tingling, an oscillation, movement, pure stimulation and, in the case of body-modification expert Shannon Larrett's encounter with a too-powerful antitheft gateway at a retail store, "Like sticking your hand in an ultrasonic cleaner."

Body-mod artists Jesse Jarrell and Steve Haworth's original idea was to implant a magnet to carry metal gadgets. It turns out that doesn't work: If you try to carry something magnetic on your implant regularly, the pinched skin between the magnets dies and your body rejects the implant. But they came up with a new application when a mutual friend suffered an accident that left a shard of iron in his finger. He worked with audio equipment, and found that he could tell which speakers were magnetized from the sensation that passed through his finger at close range.

That gave Jarrell and Haworth a new direction: Could they obtain that effect deliberately, extending the sense of touch into a sense of magnetism?

Todd Huffman, a graduate student at Arizona State University with a background in neuroscience, joined the project and brainstormed with Jarrell and Haworth about how, and where, to best implant a powerful magnet. He helped come up with the most effective design for an implant, and eventually became the first recipient. "The fingertip was chosen because of the high nerve density, and because the hands are constantly interacting with the environment, increasing the chances of sensing electromagnetism in the world," Huffman says.

"We chose the ring finger primarily because of its size and relatively low importance in gripping action, so there was plenty of room for the implant and a lower chance of physically damaging the implant," Huffman explains. Jarrell puts it more bluntly, writing about the procedure in a BMEZine article from March: "'If you had to lose or seriously damage one of your fingers, which would it be?' This was our answer." But nobody's finger fell off, and Huffman's results were better than they'd imagined.

According to Huffman, the magnet works by moving very slightly, or with a noticeable oscillation, in response to EM fields. This stimulates the somatosensory receptors in the fingertip, the same nerves that are responsible for perceiving pressure, temperature and pain. Huffman and other recipients found they could locate electric stovetops and motors, and pick out live electrical cables. Appliance cords in the United States give off a 60-Hz field, a sensation with which Huffman has become intimately familiar. "It is a light, rapid buzz," he says.

I took a trip to Phoenix to have Haworth implant a magnet in me last September. Because body-mod artists are not medical practitioners, ice was the only anesthetic available. My finger was soaked in ice water until it began to hurt. After that, Haworth acted quickly to get as much of the implant done as possible while my hand was still numb from the cold.

The initial cut did hurt, but not unbearably. He sliced open my finger with a standard scalpel, inserted a tool to make a gap for the magnet, and tried to insert the magnet in one nonstop motion. The insertion didn't work, and he widened the cut and tried again. This time it worked, and he closed the cut with a single suture. The suture was the most painful step -- an indicator that the cold "anesthetic" had worn off. The process took less than 10 minutes. My finger was slightly swollen and sported a blue, knotted plastic thread.

When we were done we sat in Haworth's living room. He brought out a magnet and handed it to me. I brought it near my finger and felt the magnet move for the first time up against the raw inside of my finger. I startled visibly, and Haworth grinned. "Welcome to your new sense," he said.

At first there was no discerning between the throbbing of the injury and the sense of magnetic fields. Consequently, some early encounters with industrial refrigerators remain mysterious -- was the display case at Citizen Cake really giving off that much EM, or was I just having blood rush to my healing finger? Other sensations were unmistakable from the start. I would circle my finger with a strong magnet and feel the one in my finger spin. In time, bits of my laptop became familiar as tingles and buzzes. Every so often I would pass near something and get an unexpected vibration. Live phone pairs on the sides of houses sometimes startled me.

I become slightly phobic of magnetic resonance imaging machines. The superpowerful electromagnets used in medical imaging can make metal fly across a room and stick, often for the hours it takes to power down the magnets. A person with an embedded magnet runs the risk of having their implant ripped out of their body.

People with magnetic implants can't erase hard drives or credit cards. They don't set off airport metal detectors or get stuck to refrigerators. The magnets are small, and once encased in skin, all they do is react next to nerves, conveying the presence of sufficiently strong electromagnetic fields. "The magnetic implant is not the most sophisticated or rich sensation, it was just the easiest to implement with our available technology," says Huffman.

Implant work isn't ready for prime time. While Huffman loves his implant, he discourages others from getting it. "Most people don't understand the risks, and implant work isn't appropriate for most people." Those risks include infection and breach of the magnet's silicone sheath. The procedure itself is painful, and the results vary from person to person for unknown and unstudied reasons. Huffman doesn't see it as a candidate for study.

"The science of sensation is something very much studied by neuroscientists and psychologists, but no one has done what we did," Huffman says. "The regulation would be onerous, even if someone wanted to."

Zack Lynch, managing director of neurotechnology consulting firm NeuroInsights, is skeptical of the practice altogether. "I'm not sure if it's efficacious, intelligent or therapeutic.... I'd worry about long-term problems, including corrosion."

Several months after having the procedure, some people begin to have problems. Some magnets begin to turn dark under the skin, suggesting the bio-neutral silicone sheath is failing. Exposure to the body starts breaking down the magnets.

Two months after my own magnet was inserted, and long after the cut itself had healed, I experienced one of these problems firsthand. My shielding breached and the implant area became infected. The infection resolved, but the region turned black and my sixth sense evaporated.

My family doctor tried to remove the magnet and failed. Instead, the implant shattered into pieces, and I could no longer pick up other magnets with my finger. After months of ESP, all I had left was a sore digit with a dark spot.

I figured that was the end, but it wasn't. Four months after I lost all effect, the spot darkened and the magnetism returned. The magnet -- being a magnet -- had reassembled itself in my finger. While it's nowhere near as sensitive as it once was, I can once again pick up other magnets.

Haworth plans to try a new generation of magnets with a 70-durometer liquid silicone rubber coating, up from the previous 30 to 40 durometers. That's going from the hardness of a pencil eraser to the hardness of a car tire. No one knows if that will do the trick, but in the body-modification community, there's only one way to find out.

[Molyneux]

Weird...yet cool in principle.

I would love if this kind of thing was being studied by, say, actual scientists or at least folk with a medical degree, though.

[Elaro]

That's... so... cool! IWANTONEIWANTONEIWANTONE!

It might actually be very useful for certain professions, though... Like electricians or engineers. They could sense when a wire or something is live or not.

Definitely something for the scientific community to explore.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I really don't think an implant would be the way to go for professionals. Why get an potentially dangerous implant when they can have a tool to us and put down when not needed? Even something like a glove with a small vibrator and the sensor in it would seem like a better plan than an implant.

I agree. A magnet-glove would give you everything you need. I, probably, could never get such an implant because I am allergic to certain metals. However, its pretty freaking cool.

[Shadowhawk]

A writer for BMEZine has strongly recommended against the practice, despite how cool it is. The technology, as it were, just isn't mature enough: the thin silicone coating will break, and your body will start its usual activities against reactive metals.

xttp://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/20060401.html (Warning, some gruesome pictures).

And I don't think magnetic gloves would work as well; the whole point is that the magnet is sitting in one of the most sensitive places in the body, and the slightest motion of the magnet will disturb a lot of nerves. Sure, nothing's keeping anyone from developing a bulky glove with a cell phone vibrator, but this is cooler.

If the mod matures, though, and gets safer and easier to implant, it'd be nifty to have.

[XaLEv]

And I don't think magnetic gloves would work as well; the whole point is that the magnet is sitting in one of the most sensitive places in the body, and the slightest motion of the magnet will disturb a lot of nerves.

I wonder how feasible and effective it would be to use magnets attached to fine needles like those used in acupuncture. It would be less permanent than an implanted magnet and presumably more effective than just a plain glove, since it would actually be in amongst the nerves.

[Broomstick]

The concept of an implanted sensory device isn't entirely new - think about cochlear implants, which don't just interact with peripheral nerves but actully connect in a major way to the auditory nerves.

The thing is, cochlear implants were development through years of careful research, are manufactured are extremely controlled conditions, and are implanted by real doctors.

I think this is a great idea - particularly for, say, electricians who stand a real risk in their professional lives of grabbing a live wire by mistake. However, getting something like this would bar you from getting an MRI, which might complicate future medical treatment. Obviously, things can go wrong with anything implanted And equally obviously, this is nowhere near a mature technolgoy.

[NoXion]

Don't magnets fuck up some electrical equipment as well?

[Broomstick]

Potentially.

A lot depends on the magnet

[Medic]

I want one If the technology matures enough and it was shopped around or volunteers were asked for, I'd sign up.

[nickolay1]

Too bad this won't work if the live wire has no current through it.

[Molyneux]

Too bad this won't work if the live wire has no current through it.

Isn't "Has current passing through it" a fairly basic part of the definition of "live wire"?

[nickolay1]

Not necessarily. If there's a sufficiently high potential with respect to the ground and the person is himself grounded, then he will not be able to detect it, but will be most certainly fucked upon touching it.

[Xenophobe3691]

Not necessarily. If there's a sufficiently high potential with respect to the ground and the person is himself grounded, then he will not be able to detect it, but will be most certainly fucked upon touching it.

But wouldn't the magnet vibrate as you reached out to touch it, due to induced Electric fields from the moving magnet interacting with the wire?

[General Zod]

Don't magnets fuck up some electrical equipment as well?

Read the article. The magnet implant is small enough and has enough protection with your skin that its interference with electronics is non existent.

[nickolay1]

Not necessarily. If there's a sufficiently high potential with respect to the ground and the person is himself grounded, then he will not be able to detect it, but will be most certainly fucked upon touching it.

But wouldn't the magnet vibrate as you reached out to touch it, due to induced Electric fields from the moving magnet interacting with the wire?

A magnetic field is produced by current, not voltage.

[nickolay1]

I'd like to further add that a magnetic field is not an electric field. For something to be physically affected by an electric field, it would have to be charged as well. Such effects are also noticeable only at much higher voltages.

[Xenophobe3691]

I'd like to further add that a magnetic field is not an electric field. For something to be physically affected by an electric field, it would have to be charged as well. Such effects are also noticeable only at much higher voltages.

That's what I was thinking of. Thanks.

[Sea Skimmer]

Interesting stuff, I hope the magnets aren’t strong enough to cause cancer or corrupt data on the hard drives being sensed. But if I want an additional artificial electromagnetic sensory device, I’m still sticking with the thermal weapons sight.

[General Zod]

Interesting stuff, I hope the magnets aren’t strong enough to cause cancer or corrupt data on the hard drives being sensed. But if I want an additional artificial electromagnetic sensory device, I’m still sticking with the thermal weapons sight.

Erm, the article says that the magnets aren't strong enough to corrupt data on hard drives. Are people not reading it at all?

[Sea Skimmer]

Why the hell would I waste time with that? I found it boring as hell and quite useless; show me a human who can use this ability to hunt down prey over multipul miles, as a shark naturally can and I'll be intrested.