New type of cochlear implant to improve hearing?

Getting cochlear implants isn't exactly our idea of a happy day under the surgeon's knife, so it's good to know that the technology is becoming slightly less invasive and more effective at simulating sound. A new version developed by the University of Michigan is based on thin-film electrodes to allow for easier and deeper insertion, and allowing for a greater range of simulated frequencies with 128 stimulating sites as opposed to the usual 16 or 22 of traditional implants. The pneumatic insertion tool to snake the implant into the ear also keeps the implant from causing any further damage to the cochlear wall. The device is currently being tested on guinea pigs and cats, and should be available to humans in four or five years.

[Via medGadget]

[James Coats @ Feb 9th 2006 2:54PM]

It's great to see constant effor to improve these devices... My 2-year old recently got a cochlear implant. While we are still very early on in this process, we've seen some amazing things as a result of the surgery. Check him out!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescoats/sets/1491772/

[Arudy @ Jul 17th 2007 1:13AM]

Jim,
I came across your sons photo's about his CI surgery. My son is 7 and was implanted at 3. We choose Cochlear Corp. too and have been very happy with them. We are looking into bilatteral for our son. I noticed a couple of photo's his BTE was off the ear. We use a ear mold. It is a sketaton mold so air enters his ear. Boy does that keep it nicely on his head! I bet you are celebrating language at your house. Its awesome to see them become more independant and confindent as they get more language. Enjoy!
Ann

[Paul Stauffer @ Feb 9th 2006 3:08PM]

Thanks for reporting this. This looks promising. My wife will be interested in improving her CI. She would like to improve how music is heard, especially as a violinist.

[Cybert @ Feb 9th 2006 3:41PM]

As usual it's framed in terms of the "disabled". This is a direct wire to the brain!

[jask @ Feb 9th 2006 3:45PM]

How do you test a hear implant on a pig or a cat?
Hey, peggy, do you hear me?
oink oink

[brownopher @ Feb 9th 2006 4:22PM]

James(#1),
Why'd you put a jock strap on your kid's head?

j/j.. Cute kid! Hope the process is a success.

[Mike @ Feb 9th 2006 4:52PM]

My son was implanted 3 years ago and the difference is night and day. Glad to see your son is doing well also.

#5 (brownopher) - nice comment. The kid had major surgury to his brain and you laugh and call his bandages a jock strap. You're an asshole.

[Frankenstein Black @ Feb 9th 2006 5:44PM]

This will be great for all those portable device users with the cool �in ear� headphones. Hear that ringing in your ear when the room is quite? Well, it�s your body trying to tell you something! Yea, keep cranking up those tunes kids ;^)...

[Irfaan @ Feb 9th 2006 6:49PM]

#2 (Paul Stauffer) - If you haven't read it yet, you may want to give this Wired article ("My Bionic Quest for Bol?") a look:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero_pr.html

It's a fascinating article on the cochlear-equiped author's quest to truly hear his favorite musical piece again.

[navamske @ Feb 9th 2006 6:57PM]

If Cokie Roberts married Norman Lear and then had a boob job, those would be Cokie Lear implants.

[Timmay @ Feb 9th 2006 8:20PM]

what?

[mamagali @ Feb 10th 2006 3:36AM]

I am skeptical that this device will be available in 4 or 5 years. Given that it is so different from currently available implants, I would think that the FDA approval process alone (in the USA) could take that long, and that process wouldn't even start until there are plans to produce it commercially. Thoughts, anyone?

[Charles @ Feb 10th 2006 6:21AM]

That's a huge jump, if the 128 is comparable to the 22 channels, that's fantastic.

There was a very good PBS piece recently - http://www.pbs.org/saf/1205/features/cochlear.htm - which also had audio of what 1, 8 and 22 channels sounds like.

If this can replace existing implants, that's amazing. Though one has to question whether the brain plasticity will be there by the time this is available for early implantees.

Glad to hear of the positive experiences of those whose children have had it. We're at the pre-implant, assessment stage...

[mamagali @ Feb 10th 2006 7:36AM]

Charles (#13) -- Actually, existing cochlear implants can stimulate more than 22 channels using something called "current steering" to the spaces between the physical electrodes. Advanced Bionics, one of the 3 cochlear implant manufacturers, will have a stimulation strategy out sometime this year that will provide 120 channels this way, and users of existing Advanced Bionics devices will be able to use it without having to have surgery to replace their implants. However, with today's 16 and 22 electrode devices, a good fraction of users can't discriminate the pitches of some adjacent electrodes, so the true benefit may be less than 120 or 128, or whatever you have, regardless of whether the channels are physical or virtual (current steering.)

[Geoff @ Feb 10th 2006 10:06AM]

1. A cochlear implant doesn't simulate sound anymore than a microphone simulates sound. What it does is convert sound energy into electrical impulses that stimulate the auditory nerve.

2. Testing can be done on animials by either recording from the auditory nerve after the device has been implanted, or by training the animals to respond to different sounds prior to implantation and then testing whether they respond to the same sounds after implantation.

[Step @ Feb 13th 2006 5:26PM]

Our 3 year old daughter has had a Cochlear implant for over a year now, and it's amazing! She's almost caught up in speech, and is virtually normal in listening. Thank God for the people working on these things.

[Step @ Feb 13th 2006 5:34PM]

We have a three year old daughter that has had a CI for over a year now. It's amazing! If you're considering this for your child, you can contact us through the site for our daughter at: http://www3.caringbridge.org/va/tessasears/

[Karin @ Feb 24th 2006 4:20PM]

Wow! Thanks for sharing this great information! It's amazing to me how much things have changed since my first son was implanted over four years ago. I'm thrilled about all of the progress in technology. Can't wait to see what will happen in 10 to 20 more years down the line! :)

[becki carpenter @ Feb 28th 2006 9:27PM]

My daughter was implanted last June at UNC-Chapel Hill....what an amazing journey we have been on!! So glad to see that others are sharing this journey with us.
And to the idiot who made the comment about the jock strap....I hope that one day, your child doesnt need major surgery, because you have the compassion of a piss-ant.