September 25, 2007
Patients in the United States and Canada were the first recipients of a newly developed cochlear implant reported to be the smallest in its class. The two patients join roughly 100,000 other indiviuals worldwide who wear such devices.
The Med-El Corporation’s newest cochlear implant, the SONATATI100, was implanted first in the United States on Sept 5 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, and again Sept 11 at London Health Sciences Centre, Ontario, Canada. The new device was launched Sept 17 at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting.
Harold Pillsbury, MD, chairman of the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, performed the surgery at UNC-Chapel Hill. Lorne Parnes, MD, otolaryngologist at London Health Sciences Centre, performed the surgery at London Health Sciences Centre.
"This new device offers the opportunity for surgeons to use a smaller incision with a smaller surgical bed, due to the fact that this is the smallest cochlear implant of all three manufacturers," Pillsbury reported in a Med-El news release.
To view the full release and to download images, click here:
http://www.medel.com/ENG/US/40_News/10_pressroom/20_Press_releases/999_pr_sonata_first.asp
Source: Med-El
