COCHLEAR IMPLANT COCHLEAR IMPLANT
COCHLEAR IMPLANT IN BRIEF
The Cochlear
implant is a device designed to help the hearing impaired and the
profoundly deaf who are
unable to benefit from traditional hearing aids. The device is
used by over 10,000 people world wide. It consists of two parts -
a head set consisting of a 22-channel stimulator in a titanium
capsule with platinum electrodes which is implanted inside the
skull behind the ear, close to residual nerve fibres; and a
pocket speech processor. It was developed over 10 years by the
team from the University of Melbourne lead by Dr. Graeme Clarke.
Cochlear Pty Ltd has over 180 patents in 7 countries protecting
key features of the implant. The University of Melbourne and the
Commonwealth also hold patents covering early research which has
been licensed to Cochlear. Manufacturing of the Cochlear implant
is done entirely in Australia with exports making up 95% of their
sales. The University and the Commonwealth have earned over $8
million in royalties from their intellectual Property.
WHAT IS THE BIONIC EAR?
The Bionic Ear or Cochlear Implant is a device that is placed in the ear during an operation. The implant changes sounds into electrical signals that stimulate the hearing nerve. The person with the implant recognizes these electrical signals as sound. With the Cochlear Implant, a person who could not hear soft sounds or understand speech very well may be able to improve their ability to communicate.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIONIC EAR!
The Bionic Ear was developed by a team of students at the University of Melbourne in Australia, lead by Dr. Graeme Clarke about ten years ago. Manufacturing of the Cochlear implant is done entirely in Australia by a company in Sydney called 'Cochlear'.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The bionic ear consists of two components: An external microphone and a speech processing unit that picks up the sounds, encodes them and then transmits the data as a radio signal to a separate unit that is implanted behind the patient's ear. The implanted device converts the signal into weak electrical pulses that stimulate the acoustic nerve in the ear. This replaces the largely mechanical function of the eardrum in transmitting sound waves to the aural nerve, which then sends the message to the brain.
The developers of Australia's 'bionic ear' have announced a new-generation model featuring an advanced design cochlear implant and two speech processor options, one worn at ear level and one worn on the body.
The new model, the Nucleus 24 Cochlear Implant System, has been developed by Cochlear Limited, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne's Department of Otolaryngology and the University-linked CRC for Cochlear Implant, Speech and Hearing Research.
Described as a 'major
breakthrough', the Nucleus 24 enables doctors to implement
advanced
higher rate speech
processing strategies with potentially greater benefits to users'
speech
understanding.
AND ALSO.......
Sound 'miracle' to children
in a world of silence
NEW international
"bionic ear" centre in Nottingham will put the city at
the leading edge of
research and treatment for
deaf children. The £1m purpose-built centre will help hundreds
of children regain their hearing.
The centre will
extend the work already being carried out at the Queen's Medical
Centre and by
the Nottingham Paediatric
Cochlear Implant Programme, with support from the city based Ear
Foundation. A plot of land
has already been bought next to the existing headquarters of the
Ear Foundation at
Marjorie Sherman House, in
Lenten, and it is hoped it will be opened by the turn of the
century.
The state-of-the-art
centre will house research facilities using the latest advances
in electronic
implants. Surgeon Gerry O'Donoghue
who pioneered the operation in Nottingham hopes the centre will
make the city a centre of
excellence — not only for training health professionals from
across the
world, but also for
research and rehabilitation of young patients.
DEAF PEOPLE SOMETIMES
USE SIGN LANGUAGE
'A BIONIC STORY'
WHEN Michael Batt's
parents were told their three-year-old son had been left
profoundly deaf
after contracting
meningitis, the bottom dropped out of their world. They were then
told that not only had their son lost his hearing, but he could
also lose his speech.
"We just
weren't prepared for the fact that he would lose his speech,"
said Michael's mum,
Marian. The family decided
Michael should be given a pioneering cochlea implant in
Nottingham. "It was
the best decision we have
ever made," said Mrs Batt, of Forest Town, Mansfield.
Michael, now 11,
was the first youngster in Britain to receive a multi-channel
cochlea implant to
replace his destroyed inner
ear. "We had hoped that when Mike received the implant he
would remember how to speak — but
he couldn't. He had to go
right back to the beginning which was very hard. It was a very
difficult
time for us, but the team
in Nottingham were marvellous."
Michael now leads
a normal life. He still lip reads and has trouble hearing when in
a crowded
room, but he is doing well
at school. He has a keen interest in electronics —
especially how his electronic cochlear is made.
Mrs Batt welcomed the news
that Nottingham was to house a £1m international implant centre.
"It does not surprise
me that they are getting such recognition," she said.
