Clinicians and researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with a team of researchers from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), a research institute and university in Switzerland, are developing next-generation hearing implants that may allow those with a dysfunctional inner ear to hear again.
Daniel J. Lee, MD, FACS, was a co-senior author on the paper, which was published last week in Science Translational Medicine.
“This collaborative study between researchers in Boston and Geneva represents an important step toward improving the performance of the auditory brainstem implant (ABI), a specialized device that is used for patients who are deaf and are not cochlear implant (CI) candidates," remarked Dr. Lee. "Overall, ABI users have modest outcomes compared to CI users. We believe that the translation of our novel 'soft' auditory brainstem implant technology that addresses the biomechanical mismatch between existing stiff implants and the curved surface of the brain will improve performance and reduce side effects.”