Prototype to product—developing a commercially viable neural prosthesis

摘要: The Cochlear implant or 'Bionic ear' is a device that enables people who do not get sufficient benefit from hearing aid to communicate with the world. an amplifier, but electrically stimulates auditory nerve in way crudely mimics normal hearing, thus providing percept. Many recipients are able understand running speech without help of lipreading. implants have reached stage maturity where there now 170 000 implanted worldwide. commercial development these devices has occurred over last 30 years. This been multidisciplinary, including audiologists, engineers, both mechanical and electrical, histologists, materials scientists, physiologists, surgeons pathologists. paper will trace we today, engineering perspective. special challenges designing active work human body for lifetime be outlined. These include biocompatibility, extreme reliability, safety, patient fitting surgical issues. It emphasized successful neural prosthesis requires partnership academia industry.