IN THE Woody Allen comedy Sleeper, a machine called an orgasmatron delivers an orgasm at the push of a button 鈥� without the hassle of sex. Now life is imitating art as scientists in the US have patented an implant that achieves the same effect for women whose lives have been blighted by an inability to achieve orgasms naturally.
Orgasmic dysfunction is not uncommon among women, says Julia Cole, a psychosexual therapist and consultant with Relate, the relationship counselling service. And a number of issues can cause it, says Jim Pfaus, who studies the neurobiology of sexual behaviour at Concordia University in Montreal. 鈥淪ome women confuse what鈥檚 called sympathetic arousal, like increased heart rate, clammy hands, nerves and so on, with fear,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭hat makes them want to get out of the situation.鈥� Psychotherapy is a common treatment for the condition, although if anxiety is a factor, patients may also be prescribed valium. 鈥淏ut valium can actually delay orgasm,鈥� says Pfaus.
Stuart Meloy, a surgeon at Piedmont Anesthesia and Pain Consultants in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, got the idea for an orgasm-producing device while performing a routine pain-relief operation on a woman鈥檚 spine. 鈥淲e implant electrodes into the spine and use electrical pulses to modify the pain signals passing along the nerves,鈥� he says. The patient remains conscious during the operation to help the surgeon find the best position for the electrodes. Meloy鈥檚 breakthrough came one day when he failed to hit the right spot. 鈥淚 was placing the electrodes and suddenly the woman started exclaiming emphatically,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 asked her what was up and she said, `You鈥檙e going to have to teach my husband to do that鈥�.鈥�
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Meloy expects clinical trials to begin later this year with Medtronic, a company based in Minneapolis. Meloy says the stimulating wires could connect to a signal generator smaller than a packet of cigarettes implanted under the skin of one of the patient鈥檚 buttocks. 鈥淭hen you鈥檇 have a hand-held remote control to trigger it,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 as invasive as a pacemaker, so this is only for extreme cases,鈥� he says.
Meloy believes the device could help couples overcome problems caused by orgasmic dysfunction. 鈥淚f you鈥檝e got a couple who鈥檝e been together for a while and it鈥檚 just not happening any more, maybe they鈥檒l get through it a bit easier with this,鈥� he says.
He鈥檚 quick to add that the device will be programmed to limit its use. 鈥淏ut whether it鈥檚 once a day, four times a week 鈥� who am I to say?鈥�
But would women subject themselves to such invasive surgery? 鈥淚f young women of 15 or so are having painful operations to enlarge their breasts when they don鈥檛 have to, are you kidding? Of course it鈥檒l be used,鈥� says Pfaus. Cole agrees that some women would try it if they felt the problem was severe enough. 鈥淚 feel about this the way I feel about Viagra,鈥� says Cole. 鈥淚t may help some people, but they should also address the underlying reasons for the problem.鈥�
Meloy has yet to test the device on men, but says there鈥檚 no reason it shouldn鈥檛 work in the same way.
