FineHearing™ Research
FineHearing™* represents a means to further research channel interaction in cochlear implants. Channel interaction is an overlap in the electrical current produced by each cochlear implant electrode, which can smear the sound signal and present a major challenge for sound clarity and speech understanding. Electrical current naturally flows in all directions and must be controlled in some way to reduce the potential for channel interaction, particularly during simultaneous stimulation. FineHearing™* research is exploring three key concepts.
Channel Interaction Compensation™* (CIC)
In natural hearing, incoming sounds stimulate cells within the cochlea simultaneously. One of the current goals in cochlear implantation is to reproduce this simultaneous stimulation to enhance the detail and clarity of sound. Channel interaction, however, is a significant obstacle in the successful implementation of simultaneous stimulation.
MED-EL is currently exploring the potential for Channel Interaction Compensation™*, patented technology, to mathematically calculate the spread of electrical current in real time and automatically reduce the potential for channel interaction. Based on early research efforts, the speculation is that simultaneous stimulation with limited channel interaction may provide richer, more detailed sound and improved performance in difficult listening conditions. Click here for more information.
Sign-Correlated Stimulation™* (SCS)
Historically, electrical pulses produced during simultaneous stimulation could not be time-locked to occur at exactly the same time. This mismatch in the onset (start) and offset (end) times of each pulse can cause “current tearing,” or the inability to control channel interaction. Sign-Correlated Stimulation,™* technology patented by MED-EL, is designed to time-lock the onset (start) of each electrical pulse to occur at exactly the same moment in time on multiple channels. MED-EL is currently investigating the use of this technology as a prerequisite for CIC* and simultaneous stimulation*.
Triphasic Pulses*
Cochlear implant systems have traditionally provided electrical stimulation using biphasic electrical pulses that result in a very small amount of residual electrical charge in the cochlea following each stimulation pulse. As this can contribute to channel interaction, MED-EL is investigating the use of triphasic pulses* to reduce the residual electrical charge and, in turn, minimize channel interaction.
