The piezoelectric cochlear implant: Concept, feasibility, challenges, and issues

A better understanding of the fundamental phenomena occurring in both the h ealthy and the artificially stimulated cochlea will greatly aid in the engi neering of more effective cochlear implant devices and will, in general, en hance mankind's knowledge of inner ear function. This study was initiated t o probe the feasibility of use of artificial piezoelectric transducer devic es, both for the understanding of cochlear phenomena and as a possible coch lear implant. Aspects of feasibility of such an implant, the issues involve d, the materials science challenges that need to be overcome to fabricate s uch a device, and results from initial in vivo experiments are discussed. ( C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.