一種帶狀耳蝸移植物能夠極大提高重度耳聾患者聽(tīng)力，能夠很容易的植入，幫助醫(yī)生把對(duì)健康耳組織的損傷降至最低。

密歇根大學(xué)(Ann Arbor, MI, USA)的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)制作了這種移植物，將薄膜電極植入能夠直接刺激聽(tīng)神經(jīng)的部位。這種移植物現(xiàn)在正在豚鼠和貓身上進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)。該研究團(tuán)隊(duì)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)Kensall D. Wise是無(wú)線整合微系統(tǒng)中心(WIMS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)主任，他同時(shí)在大學(xué)生物醫(yī)學(xué)工程、電子工程和計(jì)算機(jī)系任職。該設(shè)備5年后會(huì)在人身上投入使用。

迄今為止全球范圍內(nèi)大約有100,000患者接受了耳蝸移植。Wise博士指出，當(dāng)前的技術(shù)體積太大，植入困難，不能大范圍應(yīng)用。而當(dāng)前的移植物使用1束導(dǎo)線，可以插入內(nèi)耳中蝸牛狀的耳蝸之中，每個(gè)移植物能夠刺激16-22個(gè)位點(diǎn)。而新型移植物能夠刺激128個(gè)位點(diǎn)。

Cochlear Implant Aids the Profoundly Deaf
 
A ribbon-like cochlear implant could greatly improve hearing for profoundly deaf patients and also simplify insertion, helping surgeons minimize damage to healthy ear tissue.

A team at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) made the implant and embedded thin-film electrode sites that directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The implant is currently being tested in guinea pigs and cats, said team leader Kensall D. Wise, director of the Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems (WIMS, Ann Arbor, MI, USA), who also holds appointments in the departments of biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science at the university. The device may be available in four to five years for use in humans.

Approximately 100,000 patients to date have received cochlear implants worldwide. The current technology, Dr. Wise noted, is bulky, difficult for surgeons to insert, and does not allow a great range of perceived frequencies. The present implants use electrodes formed from a bundle of wires fed into the snail-shaped cochlea of the inner ear, and each implant has anywhere from 16 to 22 stimulating sites along its length. By contrast, the new implant will host up to 128 stimulating sites.