MED-EL Cochlear Implants

State of the Art and a Glimpse Into the Future

Hochmair, Ingeborg Univ. Doz., Dipl.-Ing., Dr.techn., Dr.med.h.c.
Nopp, Peter PhD
Jolly, Claude PhD
Schmidt, Marcus MSc
Schöer, Hansjörg PhD
Garnham, Carolyn PhD
Anderson, Ilona BA (Sp&HTh)

MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria.

Address correspondence to: Ingeborg Hochmair, MED-EL, Fürstenweg 77a, Innsbruck 6020, Austria; e-mail: [email protected].

Trends in Amplification 10(4):p 201-219, December 2006.

Cochlear implantation is an accepted treatment method for adults and children with severe to profound hearing loss. Confidence in technology has led to changes in individuals who can receive a cochlear implant and changes in expected benefit with a cochlear implant. This article describes the research and development activities at MED-EL, which make possible the implementation of new speech-coding strategies as well as the application of acoustic and electric stimulation via a combined speech processor in MED-EL devices. Research on benefits from bilateral cochlear implantation and electric-acoustic stimulation are also reviewed. Finally, the potential of drug delivery systems is considered as a way to improve cochlear implant outcomes, and results from preliminary evaluations of a hybrid cochlear implant system with drug delivery capabilities are reported.