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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christa Spieth Nuber
Media Relations & Communications
House Ear Institute
(HEI) (213) 273-8027
newsmedia@hei.org
FIRST SUCCESSFUL USE OF PENETRATING MICROELECTRODES IN HUMAN BRAINSTEM
RESTORES SOME HEARING TO DEAF PATIENT
Success caps 15-year effort
by scientists, engineers and physicians of the
House Ear Institute in Los
Angeles and the Huntington Medical Research Institutes in Pasadena
LOS ANGELES – January 15, 2004 – Physicians of the House Ear Clinic have
successfully implanted the first two patients with a Penetrating Electrode
Auditory Brainstem Implant (PABI), a revolutionary prosthetic device that is
currently in clinical trials. The PABI is based on cochlear implant
technology, but extends the utility to stimulating the hearing portions of
the brain to restore some degree of hearing function to people deafened by
bilateral tumors on their hearing and balance nerves (vestibular schwannomas).
The PABI is a modified version of the existing Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI)
with the addition of an assembly of microelectrodes, designed to penetrate
into the auditory portion of the brainstem (cochlear nucleus) and send sound
signals to the brain.
“The PABI, like the ABI, offers patients suffering from a genetic condition
called NF2 an alternative to profound bilateral deafness,” says Derald E.
Brackmann, M.D., House Ear Clinic. “Extensive research by our Institute
scientists and their collaborators to create this new PABI provides even
more hearing benefits and hope to our patients.”
The ABI, which was developed at the House Ear Institute (HEI) over two
decades of research, was approved by the FDA in 2000 and has been implanted
in more than 300 people worldwide. The new electrode array for the PABI was
developed in close collaboration between research scientists and engineers
at the House Ear Institute and Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI)
in the U.S. and Cochlear Limited in Australia, with funding from the
National Institutes of Health. For the past twelve years, these experts have
developed and tested the PABI to ensure the safety of the device for
clinical use. The penetrating electrodes, which are surgically implanted
following removal of a tumor, were designed and manufactured to safely
stimulate the neurons in the brainstem. Patients who receive implantation of
the PABI by physicians of the House Ear Clinic (HEC) will be evaluated in the
Department of Auditory Implants and Perception at HEI, where the research
staff has extensive experience working with profoundly deaf patients using
cochlear implants and ABIs.
“We anticipate that our first PABI patients may
gain improved hearing benefits from the microstimulation of the brainstem
with the new penetrating electrode array as compared to those who receive
stimulation via the surface-electrode of the existing ABI,” says Bob
Shannon, Ph.D., House Ear Institute. “We hope that speech comprehension will
be closer to that experienced by multi-channel cochlear implant users.”
Like
the ABI, the PABI is designed for patients suffering from Neurofibromatosis
Type II (NF2), a hereditary disease that can cause profound hearing loss
through the growth of bilateral tumors on the vestibular nerves. Because of
the location of these tumors, their removal typically necessitates severing
the auditory nerve. A cochlear implant cannot be used because the auditory
nerve is not able to carry signals from the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus
in the brainstem. Instead, the ABI or PABI applies a processed electrical
signal directly to the auditory portion of the brainstem. Recipients of the
existing surface-electrode ABI do not generally receive the level of benefit
afforded to cochlear implant recipients because the surface electrodes do
not make selective contact with the different pitch regions of the cochlear
nucleus. The new PABI is designed to provide pitch-selective stimulation by
inserting penetrating microelectrodes directly into the different pitch
regions of the auditory brainstem.
“The PABI is the first clinical application of microelectrode technology, “
says Doug McCreery, Ph.D., HMRI. “The HMRI team is proud to have
collaborated with HEI, HEC and Cochlear Limited on this important project by
developing the new penetrating electrodes and array, insertion instrument
and safety testing with support from the NIH." This project has been funded
in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Institute on
Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of
Health (NIH), under Contract No. NO1-DC-1-2105. Total NIDCD/NIH funding
since June 1992 is $4,851,293. Funding to Cochlear Limited from the FDA was
$300,000.
About the House Ear Institute
The House Ear Institute (HEI) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3)
organization dedicated to advancing hearing science through research and
education to improve quality of life. Established in 1946 by Howard P.
House, M.D., as the Los Angeles Foundation of Otology, and later renamed for
its founder, the House Ear Institute has been engaged in the scientific
exploration of the auditory system from the ear canal to the cortex of the
brain for more than 55 years. Our scientists continue to explore the
developing ear and ear diseases at the cell and molecular level, as well as
the complex ear-brain interaction. They are also working to improve hearing
aids and auditory implants, clinical treatments and intervention methods.
For information on the House Ear Institute, please call (213) 483-4431 or
visit the Website at www.hei.org.
About the Huntington Medical Research Institutes
The Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI) is an independent,
nonprofit, public-benefit organization dedicated to improving health and
prolonging life by enhancing knowledge of life processes and disease, and by
developing technology to diagnose and treat diseases. It is widely known for
its development of the hydrocephalus shunt to treat "water-on-the-brain,"
for pioneering studies on biomedical applications of laser energy, basic and
applied cancer research, development of electronic neural rehabilitation
technology, studies in vascular biology and for development of methods and
applications of magnetic resonance, including imaging (MRI) and
spectroscopy. New programs include molecular oncology, molecular neurology
and brain mapping magneto encephalography, (MEG) liver studies and asthma
and allergy. For more information on HMRI, please call (626) 397-5804 or
visit www.hmri.org.
About Cochlear Limited
Cochlear Ltd. is the world leader in cochlear implant technology.
Established over 20 years ago, Cochlear has over 50,000 implant recipients
in more than 78 countries around the world. The development of the
Penetrating Auditory Brainstem Implant (PABI) is the latest innovation in a
long list of industry firsts. Driven by a foundation in good science and a
lifetime commitment to cochlear implant recipients and the professionals who
serve them, Cochlear continues to redefine the hearing implant industry with
innovative, new technologies. For more information on Cochlear Limited,
please call (800) 523-5798 or visit www.cochlear.com.
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