Swiss and American scientists have collaborated on promising research. We are talking about a new generation of hearing implants intended to restore people's ability to hear.
According to them, about 500,000 people in the world suffer from a disabling hearing loss. Some of them benefit from a cochlear implant, but this only solves part of the problem. Cochlear implants can indeed help people with severe hearing loss (or tinnitus) to benefit from a certain level of hearing. However, they are useless in case of damaged ear canal or inner ear dysfunction.
It is therefore necessary to reach their auditory brainstem, which is possible thanks to the electrical stimulation of ABI neuroprostheses . Unfortunately, these same neuroprostheses show rather unsatisfactory results, mainly due to the difficulty of access to the area concerned.
In a press release published on October 16, 2019, researchers from the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) discuss their innovation. EPFL collaborated with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital to develop new technology. According to them, this new generation of hearing implants offers performances that could be exceptional.
The researchers say they have imagined a flexible electronic interface capable of overcoming the weaknesses of ABI neuroprostheses. The goal here was to adapt to the curved surface of the auditory brainstem . However, the main difficulty encountered was to soften a device made of metal. The network of electrodes necessary for stimulation is indeed made of platinum. As the images at the end of the article show, the scientists were inspired by a well-known Japanese technique:kirigami. Thus, they carved Y-shaped patterns at the micron scale in metallized plastic sheets in order to obtain the desired flexibility.
It is currentlyonly a prototype . The latter should nevertheless be tested on volunteers in the near future. In addition, scientists believe that this type of technology could also be useful for recording or stimulating neuronal activity on the spine, the brain or peripheral nerves.
Sources:Medical Xpress – Century Digital
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