A new implantable probe could reverse memory loss for the hundreds of thousands of troops who've suffered brain injuries since 2000. 

And while The Pentagon-developed project is focused on the more than 280,000 troops who could benefit from this research, seniors with dementia and athletes with brain injuries could also profit from the medical breakthrough.

The project is creating a stir as attempts to develop drugs for brain injuries and memory loss have been stymied for the past decade. 

Brain waves: The proposed portable, wireless device would help restore memory function by stimulating various parts of the brain

'The way human memory works is one of the great unsolved mysteries,' Andres Lozano, chairman of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, told Bloomberg. 'This has tremendous value from a basic science aspect. It may have huge implications for patients with disorders affecting memory, including those with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.'

In the project, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hopes to build on neuroengineering advances such as brain implants already available from Medtronic Inc. to treat Parkinson's disease, as well as a device helping people with limited motor functions to communicate.

The Pentagon has reached out to leading companies and organizations, soliciting ideas on stimulating brain tissue and memory restoration. 

Should the research prove beneficial, the potential could attract major companies including General Electric Co. and International Business Machines Corp. 

Medtronic's implant is already authorized for sale in the U.S.. Similar devices manufactured by Minnesota's St. Jude Medical Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. in Massachusetts are also seeking approval. 

Epidemic: There are at least 1.7 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with memory loss every year

The DARPA project is a section of President Barack Obama's BRAIN initiative, created to fund research that could treat common brain disorders. 

Eventually, DARPA hopes to develop a device that is portable and wireless and that 'must incorporate implantable probes' which will both record and stimulate brain activity.

Companies submitting proposals for the project must not the number, size, weight, spacing and power requirement of the probes in their proposal.

They must also note what areas of the brain they plan to target. 

Medtronic's device is made up of thin wires which can carry a signal to the brain's electrodes that 'deliver stimulation to the brain.'

In that example, the electrical impulses are powered by a device just under the skin in the upper chest. 

31-year-old Army sergeant Thomas Green III is one of the many who stand to benefit. 

In 2004, Green was driving a five-ton truck in Iraq when it struck a roadside bomb and flipped over ten times, leaving Green with a crushed pelvis, fractured back, and brain injury. 

Today he sometimes forgets his wife's name. Immediately after the attack he had trouble remembering how to brush his teeth or put on a shirt. 

Super soldier: DARPA could combine the implants with suits that help reduce a soldier's risk of fatigue and injury

Green left the military in 2005 and said he's since developed ways to deal with his handicap, such as setting up reminders on his phone and computer.

There are at least 1.7 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with memory loss every year. 

Federal health care studies claim the annual cost to the nation's economy is north of $76 billion while the Department of Veteran's Affairs estimates that $4.2 billion will go to care for former troops suffering brain injuries between 2013 and 2022. 

The DARPA project would be most useful for the type of memory used to recall 'task-based motor skills' such as driving cars, tying shoes, and, at the highest level, operating machinery or flying planes.

In the past, DARPA projects have helped lead to the creation of the Internet and stealth fighter jets. 

Other projects in the works inlcude 'geckskin,' a program to help soldiers scale walls the way a lizard would, and robotic pack mules to carry equipment. 

Yet another DARPA program is aimed at developing bodysuits to make soldiers stronger and less vulnerable to injury or fatigue. 

Breakthroughs: DARPA initiatives also hope to create combat suits, robotic pack mules, and tech that would help a soldier scale a wall like a lizard

'If you're saying, well, at the end of the program will they actually turn out a brain chip, or put somebody in a warrior websuit, the probability of that is probably 10 to 15 per cent,' Mike Hopmeier, a former contractor and consultant with DARPA, told Bloomberg. 

Justin Ihle, a spokesman for Medtonic, declined to comment on what his company might bid for the DARPA brain project, saying only that his company is 'interested in forming partnerships with institutions, such as DARPA, that may one day lead to new treatment options and better technology.'

GE Global Research reps said the company would not submit a proposal, while IBM did not respond to requests for comment.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2554987/The-Pentagons-brain-implants-REVERSE-memory-loss-caused-brain-damage.html