MED-EL Technological Innovations Supporting FineHearing™ Technology
MED‑EL is the only hearing implant manufacturer offering FineHearing™ through the use of Fine Structure Processing*. The following technological innovations of MED‑EL support FineHearing and make it a unique technology in the world of hearing implants.
I100 Cochlear Implant Electronics
MED‑EL’s new generation of cochlear implants introduce the powerful and sophisticated I100 electronics platform, ensuring an unprecedented precision in the transfer of sound information to the hearing nerve. Only this new implant platform is able to support Fine Structure Processing as the fastest and most effective sound coding strategy available today.
Latest Speech Processor Technology
The new generation of MED‑EL speech processors are designed to take full advantage of I100 cochlear implant electronics. Using the latest advances in microchip technology, they represent a milestone achievement in speech processor engineering.
Complete Cochlear Coverage
Like the keys of a piano, the neural structures are arranged in order of pitch (frequency). In normal hearing, one end of the cochlea sends high-pitched information to the brain, while the other sends low-pitched information. High-pitched sounds cause the sensory cells in the bottom (base) of the cochlea to vibrate, low-pitched sounds cause that reaction in the uppermost part of the cochlea (apex).
[ Learn more about Complete Cochlear Coverage ]
In natural hearing, low frequency sounds at the apex of the cochlea are coded in both rate and place. Furthermore, to evoke a strong pitch sensation, the rate and place should match. Therefore, to best mimic natural hearing, it is of utmost importance for a cochlear implant to stimulate the entire length of the cochlea – including the apex. In cochlear implant technology, only a long electrode array will reach deeply enough into the cochlea to provide Complete Cochlear Coverage and to stimulate the apical region.
MED‑EL offers the longest electrode array currently available, which is specifically designed with an extraordinarily flexible tip to protect the delicate structures of the cochlea during insertion. The MED‑EL standard electrode array extends 31.5 mm in the cochlea, covering its entire range from the base to the apex.
Through additional rate coding in the apical region, Fine Structure Processing allows better pitch perception especially in the low frequencies. Complete Cochlear Coverage, with MED-EL’s especially long electrode array, fully supports FineHearing and allows the best possible simulation of natural hearing using a cochlear implant system.
