A pacemaker for your brain

A man, who for 6 years was in a near-vegetative state, is now speaking and drinking on his own, in spite of his severe brain injuries.

Is it a medical miracle?

Kind of. The man's amazing recovery is actually attributed to a "Brain Pacemaker," a device that -- like a traditional pacemaker -- is implanted under the skin of a person's chest. However, instead of sending electrodes to "jump start" the heart, the Brain Pacemaker instead works in the area of the brain controlling consciousness. Essentially, it zaps near-vegetative patients into a more alert state.

Medtronic Inc, the company manufacturing the device, will be testing their product on 11 more patients in the current pilot study. If successful, it's thought there could be anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 patients in a similar state who might benefit from this kind of therapy.