Developing brain imaging technology for cochlear implant patients
Researchers at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia have just solved a problem that they have been unable to find an answer to for the past 30 years: developing brain imaging technology for people with cochlear implants.
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| Brain scan of a cochlear implant patient. (Photo: Do Van/Vietnam+) |
This is the first brain imaging technology in the world successfully applied to these subjects.
Cochlear implants have been used for three decades to improve hearing in deaf people, but scientists have been unable to see how they work inside the brain.
According to experts, there are two reasons why traditional brain imaging technologies do not work well for people with cochlear implants. First, cochlear implants are made with anti-CT materials. Second, cochlear implants emit their own signals that interfere with or counteract the measurement of brain signals.
However, scientists have now used superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and the results are very promising.
The brain signals they measured were tiny, like the footsteps of ants on a soccer field.
Researchers hope this discovery will open up new hope for hearing-impaired patients./.
According to Vietnam+
