NIH cuts spotlight a hidden crisis facing patients with experimental brain implants

The Associated Press
July 27, 2025, 9:15 AM

Carol Seeger finally escaped her debilitating depression with an experimental treatment that placed electrodes in her brain and a pacemaker-like device in her chest. But when its batteries stopped working, insurance wouldn’t pay to fix the problem and she sank back into a dangerous darkness.

She worried for her life, asking herself: “Why am I putting myself through this?”

Seeger’s predicament highlights a growing problem for hundreds of people with experimental neural implants, including ]those for depression, quadriplegia and other conditions. Although these patients take big risks to advance science, there’s no guarantee that their devices will be maintained — particularly after they finish participating in clinical trials — and no mechanism requiring companies or insurers to do so.

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