Es nervt! Viele kennen den Tinnitus als leidvolles Geräusch in den Ohren. Weltweit sind laut italienischen Forschern 740 Millionen Menschen betroffen. Für knapp 118 Millionen von ihnen ist das Dauerpiepen eine nicht aushaltbare Belastung. Therapien mittels externer Technologie gibt es schon. Dabei wird der Hörnerv bei gleichzeitiger elektrischer Stimulation der Zunge über ein Mundstück gereizt. Eine wirkungsvolle Alternative soll künftig das Einsetzen von aktiven Implantaten ins Innenohr sein. Ohne von außen sichtbar zu sein, soll das
Is there anything more annoying? Tinnitus – the distressing sensation of phantom noise in the ears – is an affliction familiar to many. Italian researchers estimate that it affects 740 million people worldwide. For almost 118 million of them, the constant ringing reaches intolerable levels. Therapies using external technologies are already available: One solution involves activating the auditory nerve by electrically stimulating the tongue using a small device in the mouth. Scientists are also working on active implants for the inner ear as an effective future alternative. Invisible from outside, these devices will stimulate an area of the inner ear known as the round window and soothe the phantom sounds typical of tinnitus. Modern medicine is almost unimaginable without microelectronic implants in the human body. Just as pacemakers extend life and cochlear prostheses allow people to hear again, the new technological therapy for tinnitus could considerably improve the lives of millions of people, says Roman Ruff, a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT. “Tinnitus is a common problem,” he adds.
Until now, medical implants have usually involved sensors and actuators that are distributed around the body and connected to a central implant by cable. It’s an effective solution. “The cable connection is often the part of the implant that fails first, however,” Ruff reveals. And when an implant fails, the cabling complicates the intervention needed to fix it. Scientists have now developed technology to address this flaw. “We’ve taken the step from a single central implant to a network of miniaturized implants,” Ruff reports. His institute was part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s INTAKT innovation cluster, which was set up to work on interactive microimplants and research ways for them to connect and communicate with each other. “In tangible terms, we developed a technology platform,” says Ruff. Developing connected implants is challenging: the chips need to be enclosed in a capsule so that they don't interact with the body in undesired ways. Data transmission and signal analysis also need to be flawless throughout the lifespan of the device.
Complex functionality in the smallest of spaces: the microimplant is contained in a capsule and has an eight-layer circuit board.
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