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There are approximately 3,000 nerve endings in a working cochlea that need to be stimulated by a few (8, 10, 12, 24) electrodes. So no matter what, it not goin

by peterb 14y ago

There are approximately 3,000 nerve endings in a working cochlea that need to be stimulated by a few (8, 10, 12, 24) electrodes. So no matter what, it not going to sound like what a fully functioning cochlea. You can't get the resolution. The algorithms are important, but so are the number of electrodes. Ideally you want 3,000 electrodes perfectly aligned with the nerve endings. It must be a difficult choice for parents to implant their children. Children make the best candidates, but the technology is changing at such a fast rate. 24 electrodes today could be 3000 a few years from now. Once they are in, you can't replace the electrodes, only the signal processor.

objclxt 14y ago
This would be true for a consumer electronics device, but this is something that's inserted inside the body and is expected to function for many, many years. 24 electrode implants have been in the market for over twenty years. The major, major strides in implant technology have generally happened outside the body - speech processing packs have gone from shoulder worn packs to behind-the-ear models. You need to bear in mind that we're not dealing with traditional technology here: we're dealing with implanted medical devices. This is not a situation where Moore's law applies. It is vastly cheaper to spend R&D developing speech/music processing algorithms than trying to cram more and more electrodes into implants which require extensive testing and certification by the likes of the FDA. To be honest, it's not a difficult decision at all. If you're happy with your child having an implant[1], you would be crazy to wait a few years 'just in case' the technology improved. Children implanted at an early age can often adapt far more rapidly than those who are older. But it's a moot argument, because like I say these implants are not like smartphones that get improved every year. It is simply too costly to not only re-certify, but to re-train surgeons and audiologists on the new devices. Developing improvements to the external processing units is many factors cheaper than upgrading the implants themselves. [1] There are some parents who do not necessarily approve or want their children to get implants, but not for the reasons you suggest. This mainly happens with parents who themselves are deaf, or part of the deaf community. This is a whole other ethical kettle of fish though!

by peterb 14y ago

objclxt 14y ago

This would be true for a consumer electronics device, but this is something that's inserted inside the body and is expected to function for many, many years. 24 electrode implants have been in the market for over twenty years. The major, major strides in implant technology have generally happened outside the body - speech processing packs have gone from shoulder worn packs to behind-the-ear models. You need to bear in mind that we're not dealing with traditional technology here: we're dealing with implanted medical devices. This is not a situation where Moore's law applies. It is vastly cheaper to spend R&D developing speech/music processing algorithms than trying to cram more and more electrodes into implants which require extensive testing and certification by the likes of the FDA. To be honest, it's not a difficult decision at all. If you're happy with your child having an implant[1], you would be crazy to wait a few years 'just in case' the technology improved. Children implanted at an early age can often adapt far more rapidly than those who are older. But it's a moot argument, because like I say these implants are not like smartphones that get improved every year. It is simply too costly to not only re-certify, but to re-train surgeons and audiologists on the new devices. Developing improvements to the external processing units is many factors cheaper than upgrading the implants themselves. [1] There are some parents who do not necessarily approve or want their children to get implants, but not for the reasons you suggest. This mainly happens with parents who themselves are deaf, or part of the deaf community. This is a whole other ethical kettle of fish though!