Projektbeschreibung
Energieautarke Gehörimplantate der nächsten Generation
Damit Menschen, die unter starker bis hochgradiger Schwerhörigkeit leiden, wieder hören können, werden Cochlea-Implantate genutzt. Sie umgehen die beschädigten Haarzellen im Ohr und stimulieren den Hörnerv direkt durch eine Cochlea-Elektrode. Die Technologie, die Cochlea-Implantaten zugrunde liegt, ist seit mehr als 40 Jahren im Einsatz und wird aktuell verbessert. Im Rahmen des EU-finanzierten Projekts OPERA soll das erste vollständig implantierbare, energiesparende und energieerntende (energieautarke) Cochlea-Implantat der nächsten Generation entwickelt werden, das den natürlichen Hörmechanismus des Ohrs nachahmt. Dadurch sollen Betroffene natürlicher und deutlicher hören können. Das wichtigste Merkmal ist jedoch das genutzte Akkuladeverfahren. Dabei wird Energie durch die Vibrationen geerntet, die durch Schallwellen erzeugt werden. Die Verbindung erfolgt dabei über einen einfachen Ohrstöpsel, der an einen Tongenerator angeschlossen ist.
Ziel
Today, congenital or acquired hearing loss affects around 6% of the world population (over 460 M people, of 7% are children) and presents significant impact on people’s social, emotional, and economic wellbeing. Sensorineural impairment, which represents the majority of the profound deafness, is caused from irreversible damage to cochlear hair cells rendering them non-functional/missing. It can be restored using cochlear implants (CIs), which are used to bypass the damaged hair cells and directly stimulate the auditory nerve by means of a cochlear electrode to repair hearing in people with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. CIs are used for more than 40 years and today implanted in around 420.000 individuals worldwide. However, conventional CIs have major drawbacks. OPERA, with its potential to eliminate these drawbacks, will be the first fully implantable, low-power, energy harvesting (self-powered), next generation CI mimicking the natural hearing mechanism of the ear. Thus, it is expected to give the user a more natural and clear sound. Moreover, being fully implanted, it will not suffer from mechanical damage risks or contact with water, and raise no aesthetic concerns by users. The system does not use magnets, eliminating the MRI limitation in all conventional implants. One of the most important features of OPERA is its novel battery charging method by which the device harvests energy through the vibration generated by sound waves, fed by a simple earplug connected to a tone generator. In OPERA project, we aim to; validate technical performance and functionalities compared with state-of-the-art systems; perform stakeholder analysis and determine the main requirements for clinical practice; validate the design choices against the regulatory requirements; validate the economic and societal benefits; carry out a freedom to operate analysis and protect the IP; consolidate the business model, set up the product value chain and prepare the business plan.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
Programm/Programme
Finanzierungsplan
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum PilotGastgebende Einrichtung
06800 Ankara
Türkei