These new implants will address inner ear damage, boasts a more comfortable fit, and will send highly conductive signals. The implant’s design is based on the Japanese paper-cutting technique, Kirigami. (Image credit: EPFL)
Some older new I found interesting... Nearly half a million people suffer from hearing impairment. Typically, ear implants are used to address these issues, but these devices do not help those who suffer from inner ear damage or whose auditory nerve doesn’t properly function. In these cases, an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) is used, but these have their own problems. The results are mixed, and in many cases patients only recover sound perception. Additionally ABI’s are stiff and don’t easily conform to the curvature of the auditory brainstem. But a team at EPFL may have solved the issue with their new ear device.
Stéphanie Lacour's team at EPFL’s Laboratory for Soft BioElectronic Interface (LSBI) worked with clinicians from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear to create a comfortable electrode implant that’s meant to be more effective for inner ear damage. The new implant consists of platinum electrodes encased in silicone. The silicone not only makes it a more comfortable fit, but it helps the device conform to the curvature of the auditory brainstem.
The platinum electrodes can send highly targeted electrical signals to the brainstem. The metal is resilient, but is also very rigid and cannot be shaped without withstanding damage. Researchers addressed this by using a traditional Japanese paper-cutting technique called Kirigami, putting a Y-shaped pattern into the metalized plastic segments. The metal was then machined at the micron scale resulting in a highly conductive electrode implant.
While the device is still in the testing phase, early results are proving to be successful. The implant has been tested on mice and shows a promising outcome. The team recently developed a version of the implant that can be used on humans for surgery, but it will have to go through more studies before human testing can start. Researchers are already thinking about using the device for other applications. “The properties of our device would be of value for all sorts of implantable neuroprosthetics,” says Stéphanie Lacour, “such as those used to stimulate or record neural activity in the spine, brain, or even peripheral nerves.”
If things keep going well during testing, the device may help restore hearing for those who would typically only recover basic sound perception. And the possibility of the device being used elsewhere, such as the brain or spine, gives it the potential to make a great impact in the medical field.