Recent estimates indicate that 7 of every 10 implant candidates are implanted with the Nucleus system globally. In July 2006, more than 77,500 registered Nucleus ® system implants were in use. It has transformed the lives of many thousands of recipients and their families. The cochlear implant is a remarkable combination of science, technology, and medicine that brings functional hearing to severe-profoundly deaf individuals. Included are studies showing the benefits from bilateral implants, electroacoustic stimulation using an ipsilateral and/or contralateral hearing aid, advanced speech coding, and streamlined speech processor programming.
Also reported are some of the findings of Cochlear's collaborative research programs to improve recipient outcomes. The final section presents the most recent implant reliability data, with the early findings at 18 months showing improved reliability of the Freedom implant compared with the earlier Nucleus 3 System. Preliminary results from multicenter studies with the Freedom system are reported, demonstrating better levels of performance compared with the previous systems. This article presents the development of Cochlear's implant systems, with an overview of the first 3 generations, and details of the Freedom system: the CI24RE receiver-stimulator, the Contour Advance™ electrode, the modular Freedom processor, the available speech coding strategies, the input processing options of SmartSound™ to improve the signal before coding as electrical signals, and the programming software. Freedom is based on 25 years of experience in cochlear implant research and development and incorporates advances in medicine, implantable materials, electronic technology, and sound coding. Cochlear Limited (Cochlear™) released the fourth-generation cochlear implant system, Nucleus ® Freedom™, in 2005.
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