Cochlear Implants
by Jamie Schwartz

Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor: the smallest and lightest cochlear implant sound processor coil

May 9, 2018
Share

wearyourway

The Nucleus® 7 is the world’s only Made for iPhone1 cochlear implant sound processor. In fact, it is 25 percent smaller and 24 percent lighter than the previous generation Nucleus 6 Sound Processor.2 Making the Nucleus 7 the smallest and lightest cochlear implant sound processor available. In many cases, a smaller device can have a negative impact on battery life; however, we have incorporated a more power efficient chip so the smaller than ever Nucleus 7 actually improves battery life by up to 50%.3

N7 smallest and lightest CI coilThe Nucleus 7 Sound Processor features the Cochlear Slimline™ Coil, a new ultra-compact all-in-one coil and cable. This coil is lighter and offers a lower profile than previous sound processors, which is designed to provide greater comfort – especially when wearing a hat or helmet. In a recent clinical trial, 86 percent of users rated the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor more comfortable than their previous or current sound processor.4

 

Download the Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor User Guide .

Cochlear logo

References:
  1. Apple Inc. Use Made for iPhone hearing aids [Internet]. Apple support. 2017 [cited 24 February 2017]. Available from: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201466 (Subject to change at time of launch).
  2. Cochlear Limited. D1190805. CP1000 Processor Size Comparison. 2017, Mar; Data on file.
  3. Cochlear Limited. D1140877. Battery Life and Power Consumption Comparison between CP1000, CP900 Series and CP810 Sound Processors. 2017, Mar; Data on file.
  4. Cochlear Limited. D1182081. CLTD 5620 Clinical Evaluation of Nucleus 7 Cochlear Implant System. 2017, Mar; Data on file.
Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone,and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPad Pro (12.9-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini, iPad (4th generation) and iPod touch (6th generation) using iOS 10.0 or later.

 

Author

Jamie Schwartz

Jamie is the Associate Marketing Manager in the Product and Professional Marketing Department at Cochlear Americas. Jamie is responsible for ProNews blog content as well as professional social posts and calendars. If you are interested in being a guest author for the ProNews blog please contact Jamie by email at jschwartz@cochlear.com.

View all posts

Related Posts
man and grandkids outside

Cochlear™ Nucleus® implant candidacy and indications for adult and pediatric patients

August 29, 2018

Cochlear™ Nucleus® implant (CI) candidacy and indications are important when counseling both adult and pediatric patients. In adults, cochlear implants can significantly improve hearing performance and quality of life.1 This can have a positive effect on the patients’ overall physical and mental health as well by reducing anxiety and stress.2

For pediatric patients, a cochlear implant is vital to giving children access to sound for proper speech and language development.3

Below you will find U.S. FDA indications regarding Nucleus cochlear implant candidacy for both adults and children. As well as Nucleus Hybrid™ System* candidacy.

Adult CI Candidacy4

For those over the age of 18 the criteria include:

Those who have bilateral, pre, peri or postlinguistic sensorineural hearing impairment.

Those with a moderate to profound hearing loss in the low frequencies and profound (≥90 dB HL) hearing loss in the mid to high speech frequencies. Also,the candidate must obtain limited benefit from appropriate hearing aids. Limited benefit from amplification is defined by test scores of 50% correct or less in the ear to be implanted (60% or less in the best-aided listening condition) on recorded tests of open set sentence recognition.

Adult Hybrid Candidacy

The Cochlear Nucleus® Hybrid System is made up of the Nucleus Hybrid L24 implant and the Nucleus sound processor combining acoustic amplification for the low frequencies with electric stimulation for the high frequencies. The Nucleus Hybrid System is indicated for unilateral use in patients age 18 years and older who have residual low frequency hearing sensitivity and severe to profound high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss, and who obtain limited benefit from appropriately fitted bilateral hearing aids.

Candidates range from normal to moderate hearing loss in the low frequencies (thresholds better than 60 dB HL up to and including 500 Hz). Severe to profound mid to high-frequency hearing loss (threshold average of 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz ≥75 dB HL) in the ear to be implanted.

The CNC word recognition score for the ear to be implanted must be between 10% and 60%, inclusively, in the ear to be implanted in the preoperative aided condition. The contralateral ear’s CNC score criteria are equal to or better than that of the ear to be implanted, but not better than 80% correct. Moderately severe to profound mid- to high frequency hearing loss (threshold average of 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz ≥ 60 dB HL) in the contralateral ear.

CI and Hybrid candidacy graphs

Pediatric CI Candidacy4

The cochlear implant system for those 12 to 24 months of age who have bilateral profound sensorineural deafness and demonstrate limited benefit from appropriate binaural hearing aids.

Children 2 years of age or older may demonstrate severe to profound hearing loss bilaterally.

In younger children, limited benefit is defined as lack of progress in the development of simple auditory skills in conjunction with appropriate amplification and participation in intensive aural habilitation over a three to six month period. It is recommended that limited benefit be quantified on a measure such as the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale or the Early Speech Perception test.

In older children, limited benefit is defined as ≤ 30% correct on the open set Multisyllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (MLNT) or Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT), depending upon the child’s cognitive and linguistic skills. A three to six month hearing aid trial is recommended for children without previous aided experience.

CI Contraindications4

A Cochlear Nucleus cochlear implant is not suitable for individuals with the following conditions:

  • Deafness due to lesions of the acoustic nerve or central auditory pathway
  • Active middle ear infections
  • Absence of cochlear development
  • Tympanic membrane perforation in the presence of active middle ear disease

Visit our website for more information regarding cochlear implant candidacy and Hybrid candidacy.

References:
  1. Gaylor, BA. Raman, G. Chung, M. Cochlear Implantation in Adults. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Mar;139(3):265-72.
  2. Manrique-Huarte R et al (2016) Treatment for hearing loss among the elderly: Auditory outcomes and impact on quality of life. Audiol Neurootol, 21 Suppl 1:29-35
  3. Novak MA, Firszt JB, Rotz LA, et al. Cochlear implants in infants and toddlers. Ann Otol Rhino Laryngol Suppl 2000;185:46-49
  4. Cochlear™ Nucleus® CI532 cochlear implant with Slim Modiolar electrode Physician’s Guide. March 2016.
* The Acoustic Component should only be used when behavioral audiometric thresholds can be obtained and the recipient can provide feedback regarding sound quality.
**The Hybrid L24 Implant is approved in the US for adults ages 18 and older.
SmartNav app

A history of meaningful innovation

February 7, 2022

By Zach Pollack, Product Manager, Cochlear Implants

Why does innovation matter to Cochlear? Why is it important to continue advancing our technology?

Innovation matters to Cochlear because we are focused on delivering key technology improvements to our recipients. These innovations bring performance that matters, a true connection to life and a lifelong commitment to all of our recipients. The most advanced and reliable devices on the market are a result of 40 years of innovations.

When asked about Cochlear’s innovations over the course of his career, Dr. Britt Thedinger from the Ear Specialists of Omaha says,

“I have seen Cochlear’s innovations over the past 30 years truly changing people’s lives for the better.  The dependability, sound quality and customer service have had a dramatic difference in each patient’s life.”

While our history of innovation is deeply rooted in the implant, processor and electrode-side of the business, we have also been innovating our software and services along the way. These innovations are interconnected, and recipients experience these innovations at different times throughout their journey with a Cochlear device. This is why it’s so important that the first ever CI22M Implant recipients have access to the most advanced technology in the industry with the Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor.

So, with the most reliable implants on the market and advanced features within our sound processors, what are we setting our sights on next? Through investing in new technologies to help transform the way people connect with hearing care, we hope to make care more patient-centered, accessible and sustainable. We call this Connected Care. Our Connected Care technologies enable patient data to securely connect from the surgical suite to the clinic and into the patient’s everyday life. Some recent innovations within Connected Care including technologies supporting the delivery of Surgical Care and Remote Care, have already started to transform how patients and professionals connect with each other.

Remote Care– Remote Check and Remote Assist

We’ve brought to market first-of-its-kind solutions, like Remote Check, into the Connected Care landscape for CI recipients. Remote Check allows professionals and patients to assess performance without the need for an in-person appointment, helping ensure recipients continue to hear and stay connected. This is facilitated through the Nucleus Smart App and can be completed from the comfort of the recipient’s home. Their audiologist can then view the results and follow-up as necessary. Whether a young child accidentally fell on the playground and the parent would like to confirm the device is functioning properly, or a patient who has had their device for 20+ years and would like to minimize exposure to healthcare environments for an annual appointment, Remote Check allows both of these recipients to receive care when and where they want or need it.

In addition to Remote Check, we are proud to announce FDA approval and clearance in the last month for Cochlear™ Remote Assist in the Nucleus® and Baha® Systems. Remote Assist is more like a conventional telehealth visit, where the audiologist and patient can engage through a live video call, and the clinician can make live adjustments or changes to the patient’s processor. This tool is facilitated through the use of the recipient’s cell phone and the Nucleus and Baha Smart Apps, bypassing the need for any wired connections.

Surgical Care– Nucleus SmartNav

Another core aspect of Connected Care is integrating the O.R. into a connected treatment pathway. SmartNav offers key insights during surgery through intraoperative testing that can increase confidence in electrode placement and device performance prior to leaving the O.R. and is a great tool for those centers that don’t have access to intraoperative imaging. Data from SmartNav can then be exported into Custom Sound® Pro to give the Audiologist baseline data to better prepare for an initial activation. The data to support in theater decision making helps surgeons ensure patients have the best possible opportunity to maximize their outcomes.

At Cochlear, we are committed to pushing the envelope with new technology and have been committed to that goal for over 40 years. We’re proud that our recipients have access to the latest technology and features that allow them to connect to the world around them and are excited about what is to come.

To learn more about Connected Care, read our latest Service Report!

SmartNav offers a variety of measurements. These insights are one source of information and do not guarantee clinical outcomes.

Remote Check is intended for ages 6 and older. The Remote Check feature is only visible and accessible if the feature is enabled by a clinician. Clinicians should consider the suitability of the feature before enabling Remote Check. Remote Check does not replace clinical care and does not involve remote programming of the sound processor. Remote Check is not compatible with Baha 6 Max Sound Processors.

Remote Assist for Baha is intended for a follow-up adjustment or setup of a replacement or upgrade sound processor for suitable qualified patients based on clinical judgment. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility.

Remote Check and Remote Assist for CI are intended for ages 6 and older. The Remote Check and Remote Assist feature are only visible and accessible if the features are enabled by a clinician. Clinicians should consider the suitability of the features before enabling. Remote Check is not compatible with Baha 6 Max Sound Processors. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility.

The new Baha Smart App is compatible with the Baha 6 Max Sound Processor. Baha 5 Sound Processors are compatible with the Baha 5 Smart App. The Baha Smart App and Baha 5 Smart App are available on App Store and Google Play. For compatibility information, visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility.

The Cochlear Nucleus Smart App is available on App Store and Google Play. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility

Cochlear logo - white

©Cochlear Limited 2024. All rights reserved. ACE, Advance Off-Stylet, AOS, Ardium, AutoNRT, Autosensitivity, Baha, Baha SoftWear, BCDrive, Beam, Bring Back the Beat, Button, Carina, Cochlear, 科利耳, コクレア, 코클리어, Cochlear SoftWear, Contour, コントゥア, Contour Advance, Custom Sound, DermaLock, Freedom, Hear now. And always, Hugfit, Human Design, Hybrid, Invisible Hearing, Kanso, LowPro, MET, MP3000, myCochlear, mySmartSound, NRT, Nucleus, Osia, Outcome Focused Fitting, Off-Stylet, Piezo Power, Profile, Slimline, SmartSound, Softip, SoundArc, True Wireless, the elliptical logo, Vistafix, Whisper, WindShield and Xidium are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the Cochlear group of companies. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

This material is intended for health professionals. If you are a consumer, please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.

 

Cochlear ProNews is monitored Monday through Friday, excluding some holidays. Questions and inquiries submitted over the weekends or holidays may see a delay in response. For immediate assistance please contact us directly. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other members of our Websites. Cochlear reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes or communications between you and other members of our Websites. For a full list of Cochlear’s terms of use, click here.