120 channels-my impression

[Guest guest]

I got the idea from the interview with with Jo Osberger Ph.D,

Director of Auditory Clinical Research Advanced Bionics

that 120 separate areas will be stimulated. From the interview (excerpt

below) it seemed that the unequal currents in each pair of adjacent

electrodes would stimulate an in-between area, depending upon the ratio of

currents. Areas not actually contacted directly by any of the contacts.

Of course, these areas are stimulated in sequence, not simultaneusly, as

the 15 or 22 electrodes are not now stimulated simultaneously.

Virg

Excerpt from the interview:

" Current steering allows us to create synthetic or virtual channels

between electrode contacts to deliver more frequency information to the

cochlear-implant user. Prior to this technology, the number of frequency

channels was limited by the number of electrode contacts in the array.

Through simultaneous delivery of current to pairs of adjacent electrodes,

stimulation can be " steered " to sites between the contacts by varying the

proportion of current delivered to each electrode, thereby eliciting pitch

percepts that are intermediate to the two electrodes. The number of

distinct pitches that can be heard defines the number of spectral channels

that can be perceived by the cochlear implant user. It is predicted that

increased spectral resolution will improve music perception and enjoyment

in cochlear implant users. "