U.S. flag
				An official website of the United States government
					Here's how you know
        Here's how you know
		U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
			|

			National Institutes of HealthDot gov**Official websites use .gov**
						
						A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
			Https**Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
						
            A **lock** (A locked padlock)
            or **https://** means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.  **
Menu
NIDCD Employee Intranet | A–Z Index | En Español


    close

        
        
                      Home
      
    
              Health Info
      
                
  
          **Health Info**
          
    
              Hearing, Ear Infections, and Deafness
      
    
              Balance
      
    
              Taste and Smell
      
    
              Voice, Speech, and Language
      
    
              Información en español
      
    
              Statistics
      
    
              Health Resources
      
    
              Clinical Studies
      
    
              Adult Hearing Health Care
      
    
              Research
      
                
  
          **Research**
          
    
              Extramural Research
      
    
              Intramural Research
      
    
              Building a Diverse Scientific Workforce
      
    
              Scientific Workshop and Meeting Reports
      
    
              Clinical Studies
      
    
              Global Health
      
    
              Grants & Funding
      
                
  
          **Grants & Funding**
          
    
              Types of Grants and Funding
      
    
              How to Apply for a Grant
      
    
              All NIDCD Funding Opportunities
      
    
              The BRAIN Initiative and the NIDCD
      
    
              Training
      
                
  
          **Training**
          
    
              About NIDCD's Research Training Program
      
    
              Types of Research Training Funding Opportunities
      
    
              Research Training in NIDCD Laboratories (Intramural)
      
    
              More Training Resources
      
    
              News & Events
      
                
  
          **News & Events**
          
    
              NIDCD News
      
    
              Grantee News
      
    
              Multimedia
      
    
              Events
      
    
              Sign up. Stay informed.
      
    
              About Us
      
                
  
          **About Us**
          
    
              Messages from the NIDCD Director
      
    
              Mission
      
    
              Strategic Plans
      
    
              NIDCD History and Milestones
      
    
              Organizational Structure and Staff
      
    
              Job Opportunities
      
    
              Congressional Testimony and the NIDCD Budget
      
    
              Advisory Groups and Review Committees
      
    
              Contact Us
      
    
              Get Involved Breadcrumb
    Home
              Research
              Extramural Research
  
      Neural Prosthesis Development


The NIDCD has supported development of the cochlear implant, a device able to electrically stimulate auditory neurons in profoundly deaf patients, since the inception of the Institute in 1988. A portion of that financial support has come from the award of research contracts to investigators responding to requests for contract proposals (RFPs), as well as the award of the traditional research project grants in response to investigator-initiated applications. The contract-based research program grew from a sustained effort to develop an implantable prosthesis that would operate through direct electrical stimulation of neurons in patients with profound impairments such as blindness, paralysis, or deafness. The principal investigators supported by this set of contracts, collectively known as the Neural Prosthesis Program, were required to attend an annual workshop started in 1971 in order to rapidly disseminate advances and share new techniques across program areas. Quarterly progress reports (QPRs) written by these investigators were made publicly available in order to disseminate information to a wider audience and foster interactions among investigators working on similar projects. The NIDCD no longer posts QPRs for contract awards. Principal Investigators may provide QPRs on their own websites, in addition to publishing their work in peer-reviewed manuscripts.The NIDCD Neural Prosthesis Development program seeks to continue this successful paradigm for the development of new prosthetic devices within the NIDCD mission areas of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. Future development efforts will include electrical stimulation as well as novel man-machine interfaces that promise improved patient rehabilitation following damage to neural structures that subserve sensory input or muscle control. Sustained research efforts will be necessary to identify and pursue the best avenues for continued neural prosthesis development, and both the contract and grant mechanisms will be important vehicles for the support of this research.Manuscripts published in the primary literature have been critically evaluated, and thus remain the best source of information on advances in the field. Abstracts from published manuscripts can be obtained from PubMed. For a summary of research project grants directed toward these topic areas, search the NIH RePORT Expenditures and Results database (RePORTER) using the phrase “neural prosthesis” or other relevant keywords.For questions or comments about the NIDCD Neural Prosthesis Development program, contact:Roger L. Miller, Ph.D.Program DirectorNeural Prosthesis DevelopmentNIH/NIDCD6001 Executive Blvd., MSC 9670Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9670(Phone) 301-402-3458Email: millerr@nidcd.nih.gov
    Last Updated Date:
      September 11, 2018
              Neural Prosthesis Program Contacts
    
      Roger Miller, Ph.D.
Workshops
    
      Open Speech Signal Processing Platform Workshop (2014)
          NIDCD Workshop: Brain Stimulation for Treatment of Tinnitus (2009)
          NIDCD/ORD Workshop on Brain Computer Interfaces for Speech Synthesis (2006)

    

  
  More Workshops COVID-19
                              Accessibility
                              Contact Us
                              Free Publications
                              Freedom of Information Act
                              Privacy
                              Site Map
                              Syndication
                              Vulnerability Disclosure
                              Website Policies
                              Subscribe to NIDCD Email Updates 


    Follow Us:
                                                Facebook
                
                                                X

              31 Center Drive, MSC 2320, Bethesda, MD USA 20892-2320

              800-241-1044

                nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov

          U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
                National Institutes of Health
                USA.gov—Government Made Easy