The new cochlear implant broadens the eligibility criteria for cochlear implant candidates to include babies as young as 12 months and people with more residual hearing. The device provides closer contact with the hearing nerve, which improves sound quality, speech recognition and power efficiency. It also has a unique self-curling electrode array which matches the curvature of the average cochlea. That's important because it places the device closer to the hearing nerve fibers.
Results show greatly improved hearing compared to current implants.
Ten patients took part in the clinical trial at Nebraska Health System, which was one of 40 medical centers across the country to participate in the trials. To date more than 450 people across the country have been successfully implanted with the device. NHS is comprised of the former Clarkson Hospital, the first hospital in Nebraska, and the former University Hospital, the primary teaching facility for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. NHS is constantly improving the standard of care in the communities it serves. The health system physicians operate more than 300 outpatient clinics in 100 communities in four states and recently developed an affiliation with Shenandoah Memorial Hospital in southwestern Iowa.