耳蜗移植物有助于重度耳聋患者提高听力

一种带状耳蜗移植物能够极大提高重度耳聋患者听力，能够很容易的植入，帮助医生把对健康耳组织的损伤降至最低。

密歇根大学(Ann Arbor, MI, USA)的研究团队制作了这种移植物，将薄膜电极植入能够直接刺激听神经的部位。这种移植物现在正在豚鼠和猫身上进行实验。该研究团队的领导Kensall D. Wise是无线整合微系统中心(WIMS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)主任，他同时在大学生物医学工程、电子工程和计算机系任职。该设备5年后会在人身上投入使用。

迄今为止全球范围内大约有100,000患者接受了耳蜗移植。Wise博士指出，当前的技术体积太大，植入困难，不能大范围应用。而当前的移植物使用1束导线，可以插入内耳中蜗牛状的耳蜗之中，每个移植物能够刺激16-22个位点。而新型移植物能够刺激128个位点。

Cochlear Implant Aids the Profoundly Deaf
 
A ribbon-like cochlear implant could greatly improve hearing for profoundly deaf patients and also simplify insertion, helping surgeons minimize damage to healthy ear tissue.

A team at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) made the implant and embedded thin-film electrode sites that directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The implant is currently being tested in guinea pigs and cats, said team leader Kensall D. Wise, director of the Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems (WIMS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA), who also holds appointments in the departments of biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science at the university. The device may be available in four to five years for use in humans.

Approximately 100,000 patients to date have received cochlear implants worldwide. The current technology, Dr. Wise noted, is bulky, difficult for surgeons to insert, and does not allow a great range of perceived frequencies. The present implants use electrodes formed from a bundle of wires fed into the snail-shaped cochlea of the inner ear, and each implant has anywhere from 16 to 22 stimulating sites along its length. By contrast, the new implant will host up to 128 stimulating sites.