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April 12, 2005

Ear bionics may help quadriplegics move

From: Age, Australia - Apr 12, 2005

By Stephen Cauchi
Science Reporter
April 12, 2005

Researchers who invented the bionic ear are now working on similar technology to treat epilepsy and help paraplegics and quadriplegics recover movement and feeling.

Bionic ear pioneer Professor Graeme Clark said the first improvements from the extension of the technology could be available within five years.

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday opened the Australian Centre for Medical Bionics and Hearing Science in Melbourne, where scientists will study how to apply the bionic ear technology to other ailments and disabilities.

The Federal Government will contribute $5.7 million to the new centre; Professor Clark has donated his $300,000 Prime Minister's Science Prize.

Two decades ago the Australian-invented bionic ear, or Cochlear implant, was first surgically inserted into a child. Since then, more than 60,000 people around the world have benefited, with Australia holding 70 per cent of the global market for the implants.

The implant, designed by Professor Clark, was the first hearing aid that enabled profoundly deaf people (as opposed to the moderately deaf) to understand speech.

Although it does not restore normal hearing, the device works by electrically stimulating the hearing nerves in the inner ear, or cochlea, to allow people with hearing loss to understand speech and many other sounds. Mr Howard, who wears a normal hearing aid, praised Professor Clark's achievements yesterday.

"(Your) scientific skill and personal dedication over the years has brought unfathomable and unimaginable joy and pleasure to people who have benefited from this wonderful technology," he said.

Professor Clark said the new funds would lead to the development of better bionic ears and enable scientists to find ways to fix damaged nerves in the human ear.

"Smart plastics", which will coax nerve cells to grow towards the bionic ear, are among the new technologies on offer, he said.

"The bionic ear makes a real difference to deaf kids," Professor Clark said.

"But I believe we could make it perform better in noisy situations like classrooms, family meal times and parties, and even for listening to music.

"We need better speech processing software, and better electrodes, which go inside the inner ear and interact with the nerve cells to send signals to the brain."

- with AAP