Contact:
Lynn Odell
Deborah Miller
212/263-5800
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NYU Medical Center Otologists Are Implanting For First Time The Newest Generation Of Cochlear Implant, Nucleus 24RCS, In Two Adult Patients
(New York, July 28, 1999) -- On Thursday, July 29, physicians at NYU Medical Center will implant the first of a new generation of cochlear implant, the Nucleus 24RCS, in two adult patients who are part of an FDA-approved pilot project. It is expected that the new implant will significantly improve patients' ability to distinguish words and other sounds.
In addition, the new device is smaller, resulting in a cosmetic improvement over previous models in adults and reducing the surgical risk to small children receiving implants. This is important since infants are currently implanted with the same larger device as adults. This necessitates special surgical techniques to avoid complications such as tissue necrosis and infection. Both patients scheduled to receive the implants are profoundly deaf. The first patient, age 35, has had progressive hearing loss since his mother had German measles when she was pregnant with him. The second patient, age 54, lost her hearing two years ago as a result of medications she received while being treated for a coma brought about by severe kidney disease.
The device being implanted in both patients, the Nucleus 24RCS, is a hybrid of the Nucleus 24M that combines the original device with the perimodiolar electrode "curly electrode." According to Noel L. Cohen, M.D., Chairman of the NYU School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology, the "curly electrode" is wrapped around the acoustic nerve fibers, and it is this closeness that will enable patients a greater ability to distinguish words and other sounds. Also, being closer to the nerve fibers reduces the amount of power needed, thereby prolonging the life of the operating batteries.
The "curly electrode" was developed by Drs. Noel Cohen, Thomas Roland and Andrew Fishman of the NYU School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology in collaboration with scientists at the Cochlear Corporation of Sydney, Australia and Englewood, Colorado. This team of NYU otologists has had extensive research experience with a number of perimodiolar electrodes. To date, studies have shown that the current electrode array causes the least trauma to the delicate structures of the inner ear. Further studies are being conducted to determine efficacy.
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