Abstract
Recent improvements in an eight-channel extracochlear system for the electrical stimulation of the deaf cochlea were reviewed by Dr Jack Pulec at the Western Section of the Triological Society meeting in Los Angeles. This device, designed by Dr Paul Banfai of West Germany, was originally a transcutaneous system but is now fully implantable. The new system, which was studied by Pulec and colleagues (private practice, Los Angeles), includes an external radio-frequency induction loop that is contained within an ear canal insert. The signal is broadcast to an implanted receiving antenna coil that encircles the external auditory meatus. This arrangement is inherently selfcentering without the use of a headband or magnetic coupler. The signal is then demodulated and amplified by an implanted electronic package. An additional refinement is the further miniaturization of the stimulating electrode array, which is now wholly contained within the middle ear without disruption of the tympanic membrane,
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