Education Department Supports AMF Plea for Wideband Medical Spectrum
The U.S. Department of Education threw its weight behind a proposal by the Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF) to establish a new wideband medical micropower network service (MMNS) in the 413-457 MHz band. AMF said in a September petition the devices that use spectrum to restore sensation and function to paralyzed limbs and organs require at least four 5 MHz channels to operate properly. The petition also received support from foundations and universities.
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“The establishment of a service allocation is vital to the development of a new generation of wireless, wideband medical devices designed to restore sensation and function to paralyzed limbs and organs,” the department said. “These devices offer a safer, less invasive, and more effective treatment option than is available with existing equipment.” FCC efforts so far have not provided adequate spectrum to keep up with advances in science, the department said. “Although the Commission has allocated some spectrum for medical telemetry operations and for medical implant communications services, this spectrum is not suitable for MMNS devices, which require larger bandwidths to perform more complex functions.”
The Education Department noted that the FCC decisions had implications for injured U.S. military personnel, many more of whom survive what in the past would have been fatal injures. “Without adequate spectrum and service rules to support the operation of these innovative devices, millions of Americans, including U.S. veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be deprived of a safety and effective medical treatment for their serious neuromuscular injuries,” the filing said. “These soldiers, as well as other disabled Americans, should be afforded an opportunity to benefit from pioneering equipment that promises to mitigate the effects of their injuries and allow them to lead productive lives.”
The United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation said new devices developed by AMF give victims of that disease new hope through innovative MMNS equipment that will serve as an artificial nervous system and restore mobility and sensation to paralyzed limbs and organs. “The use of wireless MMNS devices would avoid the need for extensive surgery and minimize the risk of infection that otherwise could occur with wire electrodes implanted underneath the skin,” the group said. “The personal and societal benefits of the breakthrough technology that MMNS devices offer are invaluable. These benefits, however, cannot be realized unless the Commission allocates sufficient spectrum and establishes service rules to facilitate deployment of new MMNS devices.”
Jennifer French, executive director of the Neurotech Network told the FCC she suffered a life-altering spinal cord injury in 1998 and was outfitted with an experimental simulation systems like those now underdevelopment. “The new MMNS devices being developed by AMF will significantly improve the treatment options available to people living with neurological disorders and diseases and hold the potential to dramatically enhance the quality of life for these patients,” French said.
Cedric Walker, a professor of biomedical engineering at Tulane University, said narrowband wireless devices now available have severe limitations. “There is a huge need for wireless, implantable miniature devices that can be used to re-animate paralyzed limbs and organs,” Walker said in a filing at the FCC.