Advanced Bionics consistently invests in technology to provide the best hearing potential for every cochlear implant candidate.  New scientific research from an independent, peer-reviewed journal, shows evidence that our technology gives superior performance compared with other cochlear implant systems. 

 

The independent research (Spahr et al., ‘Performance of Patients Using Different CI Systems’, Ear & Hearing 2007¹), compares the performance of three subject groups; those with CII implants (using CII or Auria processors) from Advanced Bionics, those with Tempo+ implants from Med-El and those who have the Nucleus 3G from Cochlear.  To make the comparison fair, patients in each group are matched for the factors that can influence results; such as duration of deafness and experience with their implant.  The subjects are then asked to complete difficult hearing tests, more representative of everyday listening, such as hearing in noise or listening to speech at various loudness levels.   

 

The results are very encouraging for the Advanced Bionics System, which performs well across test conditions.  The authors conclude that this is because the system uses a wide Input Dynamic Range (IDR), meaning that all sounds, from the very quiet to the very loud are picked up by the system.  The system then manages these input sounds very well by using a special compression system.  This acts like an automatic sensitivity control, optimising the sound level without the need for the user to change the processor settings.  This means the system is robust across listening environments as shown by Figure 1.

 

 

 

 

Since this research was published, Advanced Bionics has released the Harmony System with HiRes120 current steering technology, an even wider IDR and improved front-end processing.  Results from the first clinical studies show that this new upgrade will further improve outcomes for our cochlear implant users, increasing their potential for success.

For more information on Clinical Research results, click here