Many battery-operated devices that monitor a person's vital signs are limited to logging data only over short time frames and cannot be tailored to the user's needs. In addition, devices such as hearing aids, while remarkable in their ability to improve users' lives, are inflexible in their response to varying sonic environments, and cannot be fully optimized to suit the needs of each patient. The C55x DSP core will remove many of these drawbacks and make wearable medical systems truly personal for the first time. As a leading manufacturer of cochlear implants, Advanced Bionics sees the possibilities that TI provides with this new core. Cochlear Implants Cochlear implants offer clear evidence of how TI's industry-leading low power DSPs can favorably impact the performance of personal medical systems.
Cochlear implants give limited hearing ability to the profoundly deaf.
The wire is surgically implanted in the impaired cochlea of the patient, replacing the damaged hair cells. For the wearer, the result is a significant level of hearing, often for the first time. Texas Instruments has been working with cochlear implant manufacturers to boost their performance, comfort and convenience. The new C55x DSP core will increase the processing performance of the cochlear implant even further while consuming one-third the power and greatly increasing battery life. This concept may be extended to electronic vision, enabling the blind to see.