The bionic ear

1
The bionic ear

• Iona Ross
• BME 281
• October 18, 2011

2
The Statistics about Hearing

• More than 600 million people worldwide (10)
  suffer from hearing impairments
• 250 million people worldwide have moderate to
  severe hearing impairments
• of people with hearing loss in the U.S has
  doubled in the past 30 years
• By 2015, it is predicted that an estimated 700
  million people worldwide will suffer from hearing
  impairments

3
How do we hear?

• 3 parts to the ear
• External (pinna) collects and directs sound
  through ear canal to ear drum membrane
• Middle (2 major parts)
• Ear drum detects sounds sends them to
  ossicles
• Ossicles amplify sounds send them to inner
  ear
• Inner (cochlea)
• Transmits sounds along auditory nerve to brain
  via electrical stimulation

4
Two types of Deafness

• Conductive
• Sound does not reach inner ear
• Sensori-neural
• Problems with transmission of signals from
  cochlea to brain
• Abetted by Bionic Ear

5
History of Development

• 19th century
• Count Volta and Duchenne of Boulogna
• Stimulated hearing - electical stimulation
• 1957
• Djomo and Eyries
• Implanted a single electrode attached to
  induction coil into head of a patient result
  patient heard
• 1960s 70s multiple electrode output best
• 1978
• Dr. Graeme Clark inserted first Bionic Ear into
  Rod Saunders worked!

Dr. Graeme Clark
6
Products

• Nucleus 22 Cochlear Implant System
• 22 channels for current
• Template
• Made with help from Univ. of Australia, fed
  government, and Nucleus partnership
• Nucleus 24 Cochlear Implant System
• 24 channels for current more precise hearing
• NRT technology

7
Nucleus 24 Cochlear Implant System

• 2 internal components
• Array of electrodes
• Transmitter-receiver
• 3 external components
• Microphone
• Speech processor
• Transmitting coil
• NRT technology

8
External Process

• 1) Microphone
• Detects and sends sound to
• speech processor
• 2) Speech Processor
• Sound to electrical code
• Sent to transmitting coil via cable
• 3) Transmitting Coil
• Radio waves - through skin to implant

9
Internal Process

• 4) Implant package
• Decodes entire signal
• Sends required amount of current - electrodes in
  cochlea
• 5) Electrodes in cochlea
• Nerve endings stimulated
• Message sent to brain

10
Main Focuses

• Today

• Future

• 1) Helps mainly those that have lost hearing b/c
  age
• 2) Inconvenient device
• 3) Unclear signals to brain at times
• 4) Costly procedure

• 1) Young children with little or no hearing early
  on
• 2) Entirely internal device (microphone first)
• 3) Improve clarity
• 4) Decrease cost via maybe requiring less
  audiologist appts?

11
References

• Australian Academy of Science. Cochlear Implants
  wiring for sound. 2009.lthttp//www.science.org.
  au/nova/029/029box03.htmgt.
• Traynor, Bob. The Incidence of Hearing Loss
  Around the World 6 April2011.lthttp//hearinghealt
  hmatters.org/hearinginternational/2011/incidence-o
  f-hearing-loss-around-the-world/gt
• ThePowerhouseMuseum\lt.http//www.powerhousemuseum.
  com/hsc/cochlear/the_cochlear.htmgt.I USED SEVERAL
  ARTICLES AND PICTURES FROM THIS GENERAL SITE.
• Cochlear Implantation and Quality of Life in
  Deafness. Damen, G. W. J. A.,Mylanus E.A.M, Snik
  A.F.M. Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of
  Life Measures.lt http//www.springerlink.com/conten
  t/h1q077560x44v93l/gt.