MIT optimizes cochlear implants for the deaf

The cochlear implant is a truly miraculous piece of technology. While drugs can alleviate various medical conditions, the cochlear implant can restore a fully missing sense to the deaf. Such devices for sight may be some time away, but the cochlear implant is an incredible device that has brought new perspective to the hard of hearing.

Cochlear implants work by harnessing external sound signals, interpreting them and sending stimulating electricity directly to nerves inside the ear. Despite the advantages of this method, cochlear implants currently require an external battery and microphone that are rather cumbersome.

Researchers at MIT have developed a low-power signal processor that could replace the current bulkier installations. Once it is implanted, it can be charged wirelessly and requires no external equipment. As proposed, the chip recharges via a portable device installed into say, a cell phone, or a user’s pillow so that it can work while a user chats with friends or sleeps, thereby circumventing the necessity of additional equipment.

To modify the microphone, researchers then designed a method to utilize the ossicles in conjunction with an implant to better simulate biological hearing. The ossicles are a series of three bones in the middle ear that receive sound vibrations from the eardrum and convert those vibrations into electrical signals. By installing a sensor at these bones, vibrations that would normally not be interpreted by a person’s nerves can be converted into electrical signals as a sort of bridge that overcomes the defective connection.

By lowering the power requirement and making power more readily available, the new device makes external batteries unnecessary, and therefore, this type of implant becomes a more feasible option. Surgeons working in collaboration with the lab tested the new device combination on four patients who already had cochlear implants and found that it worked just as well as current implants, with the obvious advantage of a less weighty, less visible power supply.

While the complexity of surgeries required to install the implant is a relevant obstacle, the reduced maintenance and advantages of an internal power supply are significant. The proposed devices and techniques are some time away from being available on the market; however, they are nonetheless a potent and exciting new development for the hard of hearing.