Cortical Stimulator
The cortical stimulator is a medical device used to revive neural activity in the nervous system of critical patients by delivering an electrical shock to induce brain activity. It is almost always attached to the temples or foreheads of humanoids. Cortical stimulators are standard equipment in the Sickbays of Starfleet vessels.
Usage
During treatment doctors place the device on the patient's head. The stimulator's advanced array of electromyonic sensors analyzes the current level of neural activity in the patient and automatically compares it to the normal parameters for the patient's species. Using these readings the physician then activates the stimulator's network of phased muon projectors. Intersecting muon beams focus on individual neurons, stimulating them in patterns similar to normal brain activity. A sufficient level of neural stimulation usually results in the patient's other neurons adapting their firing to match this pattern, which will return the patient to a normal state. Doctors must carefully monitor the cortical stimulator or the patient could experience neural damage or seizures.
In the hands of a skilled physician this device can even help cure complex neurological abnormalities or temporary insanity induced by drugs or stress. Doctors have occasionally used this device to reinforce normal neurological patterns to such a degree that noncorporeal beings inhabiting patients were expelled. On rare occasions when a patient's bioneural energy is temporarily displaced from the body, a cortical stimulator can keep the patient's body alive until this energy is returned.
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