Lee Fisher, PhD
Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
University of Pittsburgh

Abstract: Neuroprostheses are devices that stimulate and record from the nervous system to improve function after injuries such as amputation and spinal cord injury. Researchers in Dr. Fisher’s lab develop implantable systems to restore sensations from the missing limb and reduce phantom limb pain after amputation. While these studies have the potential to have an important impact on the lives of people with amputation, individual study subjects may receive little or no direct benefit for their participation in research, and the implantable devices are removed at the end of the study. Often, participants in these studies present with severe phantom limb pain, which they report as an important motivating factor in their participation. In this informal talk, Dr. Fisher will introduce some of the challenging ethical issues that arise during the consent process with research subjects living with chronic pain, especially for a study that may only provide temporary pain relief.

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This seminar is sponsored by the Center for Bioethics & Health Law and the Research, Ethics and Society Initiative (RESI) of Pitt Research 

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