Free patent application for cochlear implant

In the last two days, it was reported that someone had lost his cochlear implant and asked for help. There was also information that if he could not find it, he would open his skull and implant it again. But in fact, cochlear implant not only does not need a second craniotomy transplant, even the first operation, the risk is extremely low. If it is lost, you only need to buy and configure the extracorporeal equipment again. So what else do you need to know about cochlear implants? Please follow four questions to understand cochlear implants! How does the cochlea affect hearing? The cochlea is a part of the inner ear. In front of the inner ear, it is a structure that transmits and feels sound waves. Its essence is a spiral bone tube, which circles around the cochlear axis for two and a half weeks and looks like a snail's shell. Separated by bone spiral plate and basement membrane, the upper part is vestibular step, which leads to vestibular window; Below is the tympanic step, which leads to the cochlear window, and the two tubes are filled with lymph. There are acoustic receptor cells on the basement membrane, which are connected with the auditory nerve. The sound comes in from the external auditory canal, vibrates the tympanic membrane, and then travels to the vestibular window through the activity of the ossicles, causing the vibration of the external lymph of the vestibular stage, and then causing the vibration of the vestibular membrane and the internal lymph. The hair cells on the basement membrane collide with the tectum, causing the hair cells to be excited, and the impulse goes up through the cochlear nerve, then reaches the medial geniculate body through the inferior colliculus of the midbrain, and finally reaches the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex to form hearing. What's the difference between hearing aid and cochlear implant? A hearing aid is an instrument worn outside the body to help improve hearing. In fact, it is more like a small semiconductor speaker. Its function is to amplify the weak sound and transmit it to the earphone, so that the hearing aid can listen to the sound by using the residual hearing of the patient. It only plays a role in amplifying sound. Therefore, the use of hearing AIDS has a premise that cannot be ignored, that is, the wearer must have a certain residual hearing, and the hearing loss cannot exceed 70 decibels. Once the loss exceeds 70 decibels, you need the help of cochlear implant. Cochlear implant is an acoustic-electrical conversion device that simulates the function of human cochlea. It is mainly composed of implant, audio processing unit, battery, connecting wire and so on. Implants need to be implanted into patients by surgery, and other parts can also be collectively referred to as external devices. Its working principle is mainly as follows: the microphone collects sound from the environment and converts the mechanical vibration signal of sound into an electrical signal; The audio processing unit performs arithmetic processing on the audio electrical signal, and transmits the processed electrical signal to the implant through the skin through the magnetic induction coil; Finally, the processed electrical signal forms a stimulating electric field, which is transmitted to the cochlea, thus stimulating the excitement of auditory nerve endings, and transmitting the formed sound information to the brain, which is integrated and analyzed by the brain to produce hearing. Cochlear implant does not require craniotomy, and the risk of operation is extremely low. Cochlear implant does not require craniotomy, and the surgical approach generally adopts recess approach. By making an incision behind the ear, cutting the skin and subcutaneous, and grinding a bone groove to accommodate the electrode lead after determining the implantation site; After drilling the tympanic step, the cochlea was implanted, and the electrode was inserted into the tympanic step through the small hole of the facial recess window, and then the postoperative treatment was carried out. Cochlear implant is considered as a minimally invasive operation in clinic, which is far from craniotomy. The incision was about 2cm and the operation time was about 1 hour. The safety is actually very high, so don't worry about the risk of surgery. Children are not only risk-free in surgery, but also need it as soon as possible. Hua, an otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgeon at Shanghai Children's Hospital, said that the best age for cochlear implant in children is 6 months to 1 year. These children are prelingual deaf, and their speech system has not yet developed. Therefore, deafness may directly affect the child's speech ability in the future, and cochlear implants need to be implanted as soon as possible. Normal cochlear anatomical structure and intellectual development are necessary conditions to ensure cochlear implantation. Families who are deaf after speaking should also choose to plant in time to ensure normal life. Simple operation. Why is it so expensive? The cost of cochlear implant is about 70,000-80,000, and the cost of imported cochlea is about10-200,000 or 300,000. There are different prices according to different models and performances. The high price of cochlear implant is also inseparable from its cost, which is mainly divided into three reasons: cochlear implant production involves a large number of patents, and the production and manufacturing costs are high; Cochlear implant needs to go through a lot of testing links and the manufacturer is not directly supplied by the hospital, which will inevitably increase the sales cost; If you buy cochlear implants from abroad, you need to pay a certain value-added tax. For example, the domestic market inquiry of Australian Colliers N6+CI522 is about 268,000 yuan, while the latest price of Hong Kong N7+CI522 is only about 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, and the imported cochlear implant will be charged a tariff of 17%. However, due to the high cost of surgery abroad, it is no different from the cost of implant surgery in China. Author | Yang Xinzhou Reviewer | Huang Sida's article by the otolaryngologist of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University was published by Tencent Science's "China Popular Science Headline Creation Promotion Project". Please indicate that you are from "Popular Science China".