Nicolas Vachicouras, Osama Tarabichi, Vivek V Kanumuri, Christina M Tringides, Jennifer Macron, Florian Fallegger, Yohann Thenaisie, Lorenz Epprecht, Stephen McInturff, Ahad A Qureshi, Valentina Paggi, Martin W Kuklinski, M Christian Brown, Daniel J Lee, Stéphanie P Lacour
Auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) provide sound awareness to deaf individuals who are not candidates for the cochlear implant. The ABI electrode array rests on the surface of the cochlear nucleus (CN) in the brainstem and delivers multichannel electrical stimulation. The complex anatomy and physiology of the CN, together with poor spatial selectivity of electrical stimulation and inherent stiffness of contemporary multichannel arrays, leads to only modest auditory outcomes among ABI users. Here, we hypothesized that a soft ABI could enhance biomechanical compatibility with the curved CN surface...
October 16, 2019: Science Translational Medicine