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The MAESTRO Cochlear Implant Video for Different types of Hearing loss | MED-EL

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https://youtu.be/YdYjdYD--nk

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The future cochlear implant with no exterior hardware required

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The future cochlear implant with no exterior hardware required

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Future design iterations will most likely improve the neuronal health by reducing insertion trauma, minimizing the inflammatory pathway that follows electrode insertion or through the use of neurotrophins or stem cells. Improvements in spatial selectivity and in speech recognition in difficult listening environments can be achieved through changes in the electrode/neural interface. Designing an array that brings the electrodes closer to neural tissue, or changing the method of stimulation with current steering or even optical or piezoelectric stimulation are discussed. Increasing the MRI compatibility is an important consideration, and devices allowing remote programming have a huge impact on worldwide provision.

Also,  Cochlear Limited announced the next phase in its long-term research and development program towards a totally implantable cochlear implant, with the start of a further clinical feasibility study. The development of totally implantable cochlear implant technology is said to be complex, and a commercially available product is not expected for years; however, it remains a long-term development goal for Cochlear.

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The very first cochlear implant was by André Djourno and Charles Eyriès in 1957. This original design distributed stimulation using a single channel.

In 1961 another single channel implant was developed, but was proven to be ineffective as it stopped working reasonably quickly and that it only gave slightly improved hearing.

Research indicated that these single-channel cochlear implants were of limited usefulness because they can not stimulate different areas of the cochlea at different times to allow differentiation between low and mid to high frequencies as required for detecting speech.

Adam Kissiah started working in the mid-1970s on what could become the modern cochlear implant. Kissiah used his knowledge learned while working as an electronics instrumentation engineer at NASA. This work took place over 3 years, when Kissiah would spend his lunch breaks and evenings in Kennedy’s technical library, studying the impact of engineering principles on the inner ear. In 1977, NASA helped Kissiah obtain a patent for the cochlear implant; Kissiah later sold the patent rights

Australian Professor Graeme Clark  was inspired by threading a blade of grass into a seashell — and inspired by his deaf father — He unlocked the secret to positioning an implant inside a human cochlea.

During the 1970s, Professor Clark and his team conducted pioneering research in the University of Melbourne’s Department of Otolaryngology. The prototype multiple-electrode cochlear implant  was implanted in the first adult at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in 1978.

In 1986, Professor Graeme Clark founded the Bionic Ear Institute to ensure cochlear implant and hearing research continued in an independent and multi-disciplinary environment. Under the directorship of Professor Rob Shepherd (2005 – 2017),  and changed the name to the Bionics Institute in 2011 to reflect the breadth of work across many conditions besides deafness.

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Daniela lost her hearing quite suddenly at the age of 27. Fortunately, there was a solution for her. In March 2010, after being deaf for 15 months, Daniela received two cochlear implants. She is amazed at how quickly her life turned around. She uses the telephone again, watches television without subtitles

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Bionic ear technology used for gene therapy

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Bionic ear technology used for gene therapy

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Researchers at UNSW have for the first time used electrical pulses delivered from a cochlear implant to deliver gene therapy, successfully regrowing auditory nerves.

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Bionic ear delivers DNA to regrow auditory nerve cells

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Two years ago, she was struck with a severe bout of labyrinthitis - an inner ear infection. "I lost my balance and could hardly stand up. When I went to bed, I had a terrible noise in my ears. When I woke up in the morning, I couldn't hear anything."

Margaret had first suffered from labyrinthitis in her 60s which left her hearing impaired and reliant on hearing aids. She was able to stay working in an accountancy firm, spending a lot of time on the phone, until she retired at 68. But after the last bout of labyrinthitis, she was told there was little hearing aids could do for her. "I felt very isolated as I could not communicate with anybody. I couldn't hear my own voice or listen to music. I didn't enjoy going out, and if I did, I couldn't wait to get home.

"If someone came up too close behind me when I was out walking, the dogs would make me aware. Especially Prince, he would turn and growl. Without the dogs, I could have been taken unawares and that would have been very frightening. Life would have been awful without them."

When viral damage was confirmed, Margaret's audiologist referred her to the John Radcliffe Hospital implant centre to be assessed for a cochlear implant. She met the criteria and was put on a six month waiting list, but a cancellation meant she had the operation at two weeks' notice.

"I was a bit frightened at first as I had let my imagination run away with me and thought the operation would be near my brain, but I needn't have worried as my surgeon reassured me that hundreds of cochlear implants are done every year and it is a safe procedure with low risks. I had every confidence in him which made me quite calm as the operation approached. I was surprised I only had to stay in overnight afterwards."

Margaret had her operation in September 2014 and her implant was switched on four weeks later. 'It was like a miracle' she said of the switch on. 'Although the sounds are quite robotic at first, you get used to it quite quickly. You have to persevere with it. I can’t complain as it has made a huge difference to my life.'

As only one cochlear implant could be fitted, Margaret’s hearing hasn’t been restored fully as she is still deaf in one ear due to the labyrinthitis. She finds it easier to hold a conversation when talking with someone face to face. Every so often, she realises that she is talking too loudly and makes a determined effort to speak quietly - a throwback she says from when she went almost deaf and couldn’t hear her own voice.

Occasionally, she has a reminder of what life was like before her cochlear implant operation. 'I forgot to put it on the other day when I took the dogs out for a walk in the morning. Someone came up to me, but I couldn’t hear a word they were saying.'

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The cochlear implant package is made up of:

·a receiver-stimulator that contains all of the electronic circuits that control the flow of electrical pulses into the ear

·an antenna that receives the signals from the external sound and speech processor

a magnet that holds the external sound and speech processor in place

one wire containing electrodes that are inserted into the cochlea (the number of electrodes can vary depending on the cochlear implant model type used). The electrodes act much like normal functioning hair cells and provide electrical charges to stimulate the auditory nerve

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The cochlear implant artificially stimulates the inner ear area with electrical signals, which sends those signals to the auditory nerve, letting a person hear.Although sound quality from a cochlear implant is different from that in normal hearing, the cochlear implant lets someone sense sound that he or she couldn't hear otherwise. And regular improvements to the way the implants work are helping to make the sound even more natural. Most infants, even if they never heard before, will be able to make sense of these sounds and develop speech and language.

A cochlear implant consists of an implant package, which is secured inside the skull, and a sound and speech processor, which is worn externally (outside the body). Several components of the cochlear implant work together to receive sound, transfer it to the auditory nerve, and send it to the brain.

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The creators behind the 'Bionic ear' - a timeline:

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The creators behind the 'Bionic ear' - a timeline:

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1957 ⟶ The  original cochlear implant was created by André Djourno and Charles Eyriès, from Algeria and France, respectively. The original design distributed  hearing stimulation using a single channel. Unfortunately two years later they went their separate ways due to personal differences.

1961 ⟶  William House, an American  otologist, physician and medical researcher; developed and invented the second cochlear implant.

1964 ⟶  Blair Simmons and Robert J. White implanted a single-channel electrode in a patient's cochlea at Stanford University

However, research indicated that these single-channel cochlear implants were of limited usefulness because they can not stimulate different areas of the cochlea at different times to allow differentiation between low and mid to high frequencies as required for detecting speech.

Mid 1970s - 1977 ⟶  NASA engineer Adam Kissiah started working in the on what could possibly become the modern-day cochlear implant. This work took place over 3 years, when he would spend his lunch breaks and evenings in Kennedy’s technical library, studying the impact of engineering principles on the inner ear. And later in 1977, NASA helped Kissiah obtain a patent for the cochlear implant.

THE MODERN COCHLEAR IMPLANT:
The modern multi-channel cochlear implant was independently developed and commercialized by two separate teams—one led by Graeme Clark in Australia and another by Ingeborg Hochmair and her future husband, Erwin Hochmair in Austria, with the Hochmairs' device first implanted in a person in December 1977 and Clark's in August 1978.

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What are bionic ears and what conditions can be treated by them?

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What are bionic ears and what conditions can be treated by them?

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'Bionic ears' also known as Cochlear implants are small, complex electronic devices that can provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or is severely hard-of-hearing.

In the ear, there are snail-shaped, curled tubes near nerves in the ears, called the cochlea. They are able to transform sound vibrations  into signals that reach the ear and can be sent to the auditory nerve (hearing nerve). The auditory nerve then sends these signals to the brain, where they're translated into recognizable sounds.

If important parts of the cochlea aren't working as they should and the auditory nerve isn't stimulated, there's no way for the sounds to get to the brain. As a result, hearing doesn't happen. This is called sensorineural hearing loss, which can be treated with cochlear implants.