Since the 1980s, the cochlear implant has helped bring hearing to hundreds of thousands of people, but a new international effort aims to develop a new type of implant that will produce a keener, more natural form of hearing.
Scientists at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, fueled by a $9.7 million federal grant, are part of a global initiative that involves physicians, surgeons, engineers and neuroscientists. They will develop not only a device, but a form of surgery to place the implant in the auditory nerve, which communicates directly with the brain.
"I will be helping to develop the electrode arrays," said Loren Rieth, a professor at the Feinstein and a leading researcher in the field of bioelectronic medicine, which will be key in developing a new form of implant to facilitate hearing.
