The Austrian med-tech company specialising in cochlear implants (CI), MED-EL, has welcomed the results of a feasibility study on the Totally Implantable CI (TICI) it has developed and now successfully delivered in surgical procedures.

TICI is still in research and not yet available commercially, but results published in the January 2025 issue of the journal Communications Medicine suggest high levels of hearing performance for the innovative implant, “comparable to those of a conventional CI”. But the primary purpose of the study was to assess TICI’s safety, which was also found to be comparable to that of conventional CIs.

 

Academics from Belgium and Germany assessed the safety of TICI

 

The study took place at the University Hospital Center of Liège, Belgium, and the University Hospital of Munich, Germany. Six participants (four female) were enrolled; three each at Liège and Munich. The first was enrolled on 16 September 2020, and the last on 16 December 2020.

“It was found that fifteen adverse events occurred during the study,” say the authors, “but only one of these was a serious adverse device effect which, after appropriate treatment, resolved without sequelae.”

The study discussion underlined that “the distributions of adverse events were typical for those seen during conventional CI implantation”.

Leading a team of international colleagues, the principal authors of the study were Prof. Dr. Philippe Lefèbvre and Prof. Dr. Joachim Müller. Lefèbvre, head of the ENT Department at the University Hospital of Liège in Belgium, stressed that “it has been a wish from the early days of cochlear implantation to be able to integrate all components within an internal device.”

Emphasising the need to meet patient calls for greater discretion in CIs, co-author of the study, Prof. Müller, affirmed: “Social stigma remains a challenge for many people with hearing impairments and can be a heavy burden in many situations”.

 

“Totally implantable cochlear implants are the future of hearing technology.”

Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair, co-founder and CEO of MED-EL, explained that development of a totally implantable device has taken the company over ten years. “This innovation is a profound leap forward in usability, aesthetics, and user satisfaction, reaffirming our mission to eliminate hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life,” said the firm’s leader.

“Our cochlear implants have already transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands globally. However, we continuously listen to our users – and one of the clearest wishes they have shared with us is for a device that is invisible and operates effortlessly. The TICI fulfils that vision, thanks to over a decade of tireless dedication from our expert team, collaborators, and partners,” declared Dr. Hochmair.

“Totally implantable cochlear implants are the future of hearing technology,” she claimed.

Source: MED-EL/Communications Medicine