MED-EL Launches TICI UNICO, First Fully Implantable Cochlear Implant

Austrian hearing implant manufacturer MED-EL has launched TICI UNICO , which it describes as the first commercially available fully implantable cochlear implant . Unlike a conventional cochlear implant , it has no external audio processor to wear behind or on the ear. Its microphone, electronics, rechargeable battery, and other components are all placed beneath the skin. This provides exceptional cosmetic advantages as well as the advantage of benefiting from the device 24/7. A recipient can hear while sleeping, showering, swimming, or charging the implant—times when a conventional external processor is usually removed. TICI UNICO is currently authorized for adults with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss who are candidates for a cochlear implant. MED-EL says it expands options for suitable cochlear implant candidates rather than replacing conventional systems. At a September 29 press conference, MED-EL co-founder and CEO Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair called the launch the fulfillment of an idea dating to the company’s earliest cochlear implant work in the 1970s. “It was a dream that was there in the beginning, and it seemed impossible at the time,” she said. “No battery and no microphone was available, and today, after such a long time, it has become reality.” How does a microphone hear through skin? The microphone is arguably the most consequential and innovative part of TICI UNICO’s design. An ordinary cochlear implant processor picks up sound through microphones on the external sound processor, which resembles a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. TICI UNICO’s microphone sits beneath roughly 6 mm of skin , so incoming sound must pass through tissue before it can be captured and processed. The microphone is positioned above and behind the ear and connected by a lead to the implanted stimulator. Components of the MED-EL TICI UNICO fully implantable cochlear implant. The rechargeable battery is located within the stimulator. According to the clinicians and engineer