Design and Best Uses of Cochlear Implants

The design and performance of the present-day cochlear implants are described, as are the best uses of those implants and possibilities for improvements in design and performance. A detailed exposition is presented, to indicate the many considerations that enter into the design of cochlear implants and to point the way to the future. We hope the chapter will provide its readers with a rich portrait of how designers think about implants and what the next steps might be. At present, the modern cochlear implant has enabled the first—and still the only—substantial restoration of a human sense using a medical intervention, but much room remains for improvements and most fortunately opportunities abound for producing them.