Monday SCIENCE 5 A news@michigandaily.com vSA Sounds of Innovation A new implant could revolutionize hearing-aid technology By Chad Brenner Daily Science Writer A group of University scientists recently developed a new hearing aid device which will allow users to hear a higher-quality sound than existing technology permits. The device is called a cochlear implant - a type of hearing aid implanted in a spi- raled, snail-like structure in the ear called the cochlea. Led by Kensall Wise, professor of elec- trical engineering and computer science, the group developed the cochlear implant to improve the hearing of profoundly deaf patients and help surgeons minimize dam- age when inserting the device. "Currently, people (with cochlear implants) have trouble with tonal languages," Wise said, referring to languages like Man- darin that rely heavily on tonal accents. To improve this, the group devised a way to use high-density electrodes in the implant so that more tones are audible independently. "The hope is that we will improve cochle- it will unroll to lightly grip the interior wall (where it can stimulate the auditory nerve) ." A device with this capability would fur- ther reduce the risk of damaging vital struc- tures as the cochlear implant is inserted. "The idea is to have the implant hug the inner wall as tightly as possible," Wise said. "Because the new electrode arrays are smaller than previous ones, sensors can be added to the implant to ensure a higher level of safety. For example, position sensors could be added as well as sensors that tell when an implant contacts a wall," Wise said. This process would ensure that fragile structures are not ruptured or broken when the cochlear implant is inserted, allowing the electrodes to move deeper into the ear. "'The cochlear implant (pictured) is actu- ally sized for guinea pigs," Wise said. "The human electrode array is four times as long, but has the same high density of electrode sites (as the pictured device)." Cochlear implants work with an exter- nal microphone - this is usually a small device which wraps around the user's ear Inside the ear: Cochlea ar implants in order to its of what cochlear implants can do," Wise said. Wise said current technology allows an implant to use about 22 stimulating sites. However, the new implant could have 128 stimulating sites, which would provide a much higher resolution of sound. But problems with current cochlear implants are not only limited to the quality of sound. "If the implant is not inserted far enough, everyone sounds like Mickey Mouse," Wise said. Wise said his team electrode more deeply understand the lim- "We are making the implant like an inchworm, so that we can articulate its movement and allow it to crawl into position." - Ken Wise Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - that converts dif- ferent sounds into electrical signals. To give users an actual sense of hear- ing, the implants stimulate the remain- ing functional audi- tory nerves with short pulses of electrical current. Cochlear implants are generally used by patients with impaired hearing but do not restore full hearing to a patient. They can restore hearing over a small set of pitches, depending on which auditory nerves are still functioning. Nonetheless, wants to insert the in order to cover a greater range of frequencies, especially low frequencies or bass sounds can only be stimulated in the deepest part of the cochlea. The danger when inserting the implant is causing damage to fragile structures in the cochlea. Currently, to insert an implant, sur- geons have to push a small, wire-like struc- ture into the cochlea. This causes the wire to take on the spiral shape of the cochlea as it is implanted. "We are making the implant like an inch- worm, so that we can articulate its move- ment and allow it to crawl into position. It will be like a party favor that unrolls; only implant users who had profound hearing loss can talk on the phone, meaning that users do not have to lip read to understand sounds. All auditory information comes from the implant. After more testing, Wise said that the group hopes to begin working with a com- pany to manufacture at least a few pieces of the device, but it is unlikely that they will be manufactured for another four or five years. These newer cochlear implant technolo- gies will then be available for profoundly deaf patients - if they want to use them. Despite the success of the device, cochle- ar implants are controversial. Several pro- foundly deaf patients in the signing deaf GRAPHIC BY GERVIS MENZIES community have been against use of the device in children born with hearing loss. Members from this community feel that the devices detract from the deaf community. An article published in Nature magazine in 2004 suggested that people opposed to cochle- ar implants experience, "a level of social inti- macy that is rare among the hearing." Carol Padden, a linguist at the Univer- sity of California, San Diego, contributed to the article. In it, Padden explained some of the opposition to the technology. "I will meet another deaf person for the first time and in five or ten minutes, it's not uncommon to know a great deal about their family and personal life," she said. The paper explained the argument of those opposed to cochlear implants by addressing the even more controversial issue of genetic testing, "Employing a genetic diagnosis to avoid having a baby with a disability is con- troversial enough," Padden wrote. But inter- estingly, Padden wrote that a small number of deaf people would consider testing to ensure that they had a deaf baby. Only a minority of potential cochlear implant users are opposed to the devices. In fact, most parents are encouraging doc- tors to test their children for hearing loss as early possible. Headaches? Michigan HeadePain & Neurological Institute is conducting an in-clinic research study evaluating an investigational medication for migraine. Participants must be 18 to 65 years old and suffer 2 to 6 headaches per month. A total of three clinic visits are required. Visit 2 is a four- to five-hour treatment visit while having an acute headache. 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