Domestic cochlear implants made in Hangzhou install a "microphone" on the "telephone line" in the ear

Chai Liqing draws a schematic diagram of a cochlear implant

"I heard you! Dad, I heard you talking..." Xiao Liao, a young man from Fujian, had a successful operation at the Second Zhejiang Medical University Hospital. His long-lost voice moved his father to tears. Xiao Liao also became the first volunteer in our province to receive a domestically produced cochlear implant.

The provider of this set of domestic cochlear implants is a high-tech enterprise settled in Xiasha. The domestic cochlear implants will enter the industrialization stage. Yesterday, the Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone reported that all 60 clinical trials of the domestic cochlear implants conducted nationwide have been successful. Next week, the company will formally submit the application to the State Food and Drug Administration for approval. If all goes well, it is expected to be officially launched in the market early next year.

Comparison: Cochlear implants are not hearing aids

"The human cochlea is like the microphone of a telephone, and the auditory nerve behind it is equivalent to the telephone line. If the 'telephone line' is not broken but the microphone is damaged, we can find a way to make an artificial 'microphone' to restore the function of making calls. This 'microphone' is the cochlear implant." At a national artificial hearing implant seminar held in Hangzhou, Professor Chi Fanglu, deputy director of the Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University and director of the Clinical Department of Shanghai Clinical Center of Auditory Medicine, used vivid metaphors to explain to reporters the important role of cochlear implants.

As we all know, the ear is the human body's auditory organ. The reason why people can hear sounds is that sound waves are collected by the outer ear, transmitted by the middle ear to the inner ear, and converted into electrical signals by the cochlea of ​​the inner ear. The electrical signals are then transmitted to the brain through the auditory nerve. In this way, we can hear the sounds of the outside world.

If the function of the cochlea declines due to congenital or acquired reasons, it will cause sensorineural hearing loss, and in severe cases, profound or even total deafness. Although using hearing aids to amplify sound signals can help some patients with residual hearing to restore their hearing, hearing aids are of no help to many severely deaf or completely deaf patients. Implanting a cochlear implant is currently the only effective way to help deaf-mute people with severe hearing loss restore their hearing.

Unlike general hearing aids that can be worn directly after being fitted, cochlear implants are much more complicated and must be completed through surgery. They are implanted under the skin and the electrodes are placed near the cochlea. The artificial electronic cochlear implant is divided into two parts, including the microphone, transmitter and speech processor worn outside, and the electrodes implanted near the cochlea.

Progress: "Hangzhou-made" cochlear implant completes clinical trial

Yesterday, the reporter contacted Hangzhou Norcon Neuroelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. Vice President Li Chu told the reporter that clinical trials across the country had been completed a month ago, with patients ranging in age from 6 to 65 years old, all of which were successful. The drug will be formally submitted to the National Medical Products Administration for approval next week, and if all goes well, it is expected to be officially approved for marketing in three months.