Surgery for an improved multiple-channel cochlear implant.
An improved multiple-channel cochlear implant has been developed. The titanium container with enclosed electronics, the receiver coil, and the connector are embedded in medical-grade Silastic. The upper half of the implant has a diameter of 35 mm and a height of 4.5 mm, and the lower half a diameter of 23 mm and a height of 5 mm. The electrode array has also been designed to reduce the possibility of breakage due to repeated movements over many years. The surgery involves drilling a bed in the mastoid bone for the receiver-stimulator, and fixing the proximal electrode under the mastoid cortex. Gentle insertion of the electrode array through the round window and along the scala tympani is achieved with a specially designed microclaw .
D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000295:instrumentation; D011184:Postoperative Period; D013525:Surgical Instruments