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Updated Implant Provides More Realistic Sound Quality for Deaf People

Cochlear implants are very successful neural prosthetics that help individuals who are deaf perceive sound. They work by translating auditory information into electrical signals that go directly to the brain, bypassing cells that don't serve this function as they should because they are damaged. Yet these devices have a long way to go before their performance is comparable to that of the intact human ear. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Georgia Tech biomedical engineers have found a way to improve the audio quality of cochlear implants by building in more electrodes, which provide a wider range of frequencies. The researchers developed a new, thin-film electrode array that is up to three times more sensitive than traditional wire electrodes, without adding bulk. Unlike wire electrodes, the new array is also flexible, meaning it can get closer to the inner wall of the cochlea. The researchers believe the new design will create better coupling between the array and the nervous system, leading to a crisper signal.

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    Transcript

    00:00:00 ♫MUSIC♫ CORY DORFMAN: Can you please lower it a little? MILES O'BRIEN: Twelve-year-old Cory... JOANIE DORFMAN: A little down. That's good. MILES O'BRIEN: ...and his twin sister Joanie were born deaf but they've been hearing nearly all their lives. CORY DORFMAN: It's called a cochlear implant and it helps me hear. As Helen Keller said, "Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people." MILES O'BRIEN: Today they're getting a tune-up.

    00:00:39 SUSIE TROTOCHAUD: When they first heard and they were just babies, their reaction, it was just really wonderful. JOANIE DORFMAN: So have you heard about that new movie coming out, "Teen Beach Movie?" CORY DORFMAN: Oh yeah. MILES O'BRIEN: As life changing as Cochlear Implants has been for them, the devices are still far from perfect. [DIGITAL SOUND] PAMELA BHATTI: The sound is muffled, dampened, they don't get the same span of sound as we normally would. So how's the

    00:01:11 simulation work going? MILES O'BRIEN: With support from the National Science Foundation, biomedical engineer, Pamela Bhatti and her team at Georgia Tech are working to improve the sound quality of these implants. CORY DORFMAN: I think that might be a little high. MILES O'BRIEN: A cochlear implant is basically a small sound system. A microphone worn behind the ear picks up sounds that are sent wirelessly to an implant inserted in the cochlea, deep inside the ear.

    00:01:38 JOANIE DORFMAN: The cochlea doesn't work so the computer really kind of sends signals to the brain which is what the cochlea is supposed to do. MILES O'BRIEN: More specifically, the implant does what tiny hairs in the cochlea should be doing, converting sound waves into electrical signals that the brain can understand. Bhatti and her team have found a way to improve the audio quality of cochlear implants by building in more electrodes which provide a wider range of frequencies. Instead of bundling electrodes by hand, they've developed thin filma

    00:02:13 rays of microfabricated electrodes, borrowing technologies used to manufacture integrated circuits. Their new design also makes it easier to insert. PAMELA BHATTI: And our cable is appreciably thinner. You also have the ability to potentially reduce the cost. MILES O'BRIEN: And Bhatti says the cochlear implant they're developing is still being tested. It is designed to cover a broader spectrum to treat the type of low frequency hearing loss that many, especially the rock and roll baby boomers, are experiencing from over exposure to loud noises. So better,

    00:02:49 smaller implants for more realistic sound quality. For those who depend on this kind of technology for hearing, it's music to their ears. CORY DORFMAN: Bellissimo. MILES O'BRIEN: For Science Nation, I'm Miles O'Brien.