Millions of people around the world today have implanted medical devices, from heart assist devices and artificial joints, to cochlear implants and artificial retinas, to brain chips and brain pacemakers. But far fom enjoying superhuman health they struggle with chronic disability, complications, poverty and suffering. How can we encourage the innovation of new and improved implanted medical devices, ensure their safety and improve access to them? What implantable medical devices are in the pipeline, and can when will they be so powerful, safe and cheap that they will be useful for people without diseases and disabilities?

Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

James Hughes Ph.D., the IEET Executive Director, is a bioethicist and sociologist at Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut where he teaches Health Policy. He holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago, where he also taught bioethics. Dr. Hughes is author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future (Westview Press, 2004), and produces a syndicated weekly radio program, Changesurfer Radio. He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities and the Working Group on Ethics and Technology at Yale University. Dr. Hughes speaks on medical ethics, health care policy and future studies worldwide, and appears often radio and television.