US surgeon accidentally invents orgasmatron

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http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-80309,00.html

US surgeon accidentally invents orgasmatron

BY NIGEL HAWKES, HEALTH EDITOR

AN AMERICAN surgeon has developed an implant that enables women to enjoy sexual pleasure at the flick of a switch.

In a case of life imitating art, Stuart Meloy has patented his own version of the orgasmatron, a device featured in Woody Allen’s 1973 science- fiction comedy Sleeper.

Dr Meloy found the secret by accident. A surgeon at Piedmont Anaesthesia and Pain Consultants, in Winston- Salem, North Carolina, he has been working for several years on ways of diminishing persistent pain by implanting electrodes in the spine and using electrical pulses to modify the pain signals. Halfway through one procedure he could not help noticing the “emphatic exclamations” that the woman on the operating table was making. “I asked her what was up, and she said: ‘You’re going to have to teach my husband to do that’,” Dr Meloy told New Scientist.

He foresees his device as a godsend to women who are unable to achieve orgasm. The medical technology company Medtronic, in Minneapolis, plans to start clinical trials this year. To control the device, a women would have to have a cigarette-sized signal generator implanted in one of her buttocks, so it is not for the merely curious.

“Then you’d have a hand-held remote control to trigger it. But it’s as invasive as a pacemaker, so this is only for extreme cases,” Dr Meloy said. The device would be programmed to limit its use, he said, adding: “But whether it’s once a day, four times a week — who am I to say?” Julia Cole, a psychosexual therapist, said: “It may help some people, but they should also address the underlying reasons for the problem.”

-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), February 07, 2001

Answers

As Mrs Canuck says, "If only they could invent a machine that would take out the garbage and kill spiders...."

-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), February 07, 2001.

ooops...didn't see the Capn's post. We must have the same mindset, eh capn?!

-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), February 07, 2001.

Used by Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally"

-- (nemesis@awol.com), February 08, 2001.

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