COSMIIC is built on the expectation that significant medical advances will occur through the use of active implantable devices. At COSMIIC, our goal is to eliminate or reduce barriers that accompany human study of these types of devices. We hope that by helping the academic world conduct research into the use of implantable devices for the treatment of disability and disease, we can improve the health and quality of life of everyone on this planet. We sincerely hope that our community can offer you the resources you need to take your innovative concepts regarding new treatments for disease, turn them into practical implant systems, and demonstrate success in first-in-man studies. By establishing COSMIIC, we are committing to disseminating our experiences with implantable devices to the broader research community.

History

Our research team in Cleveland has been developing implantable devices since the 1960’s. 

Indeed, the first spinal cord stimulator was implanted in Cleveland in 1967. We implanted our first multi-channel device for spinal cord injury function in 1986. In 1996, we implanted the first device that combined stimulation with implanted joint angle sensing and, in 2003, we implanted the first myoelectrically-controlled device. 

It was our ongoing experience in designing, fabricating, implanting, implementing, and evaluating these devices in humans that led us to develop a modular implant concept, which we called the Networked Neuroprosthesis (NNP). The NNP system, which was first implanted in humans in 2016, forms the platform for the COSMIIC System.

COSMIIC System

Participants receiving the COSMIIC System have demonstrated improved functional abilities, such as eating with a fork, picking up finger food, writing, opening doors, taking food out of a refrigerator, holding a glass, improved posture, improved reach, and even improved wheelchair propulsion. 

Each implanted system is customized to the needs and goals of each recipient. Modules are placed near the target muscles for stimulation and recording, and in locations that can be accessed for future surgical repair.