Charles on… anything that comes along

Sys-con tells us:

A cochlear implant surgery will be performed live over the Internet from Tampa General Hospital on July 26, 2007 at 4 p.m. EDT on www.OR-Live.com.

Forgotten what it involves?

The procedure typically takes about an hour per ear and involves implanting a small internal computer into the bone behind the ear. The surgeon opens the mastoid bone behind the outer ear to access the cochlea (inner ear) and slides an electrode cable into the inner ear.

I was once in the operating room trying to interview a doctor who was performing a hip operation. He was OK about talking, but once he started the drill and it started to bite into the bone, I felt kinda green and had to go. House I am not.

Meanwhile there’s a new site about cochlear implants in the UK, and particularly the “postcode lottery” of which Primary Care Trusts offer bilateral implants, and which don’t. (Thanks Jason for the pointer.)

It’s sponsored by Cochlear, which makes implants; but the identity of the owner is suppressed, and the “about us” doesn’t lead anywhere. Which leads me to go hmm, yes, bilaterals are good, but I’d like to know who’s really behind this. Is it simply Cochlear doing some astroturfing? Or an individual who went to them and asked for it? The site looks too well-made to be a knife-and-fork DIY job. But there’s useful info there too, which I’d like to tap…

These posts might be related (the database thinks..):
• My own call for papers - on cochlear implants (8 May 2006; score: 93.57%)
• Better cochlear implants; the power law of homelessness and pollution (13 February 2006; score: 74.8%)
• Two ears better than one, especially for cochlear implant makers (25 September 2006; score: 69.05%)