MED-EL announces TICI UNICO, the first totally implantable cochlear implant.

@Deaf_piper said:

How would an internal battery go if you had to have an MRI?

The MED-EL documents say it is MRI conditional, like all CIs, up to 3T.

(Edit: Removed the word "safe".)

MR conditional is not always trivial: https://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/clinical-article/scanning-mr-conditional-implants It sounds like patients may want to review the parameters before implantation and keep copies of those details for as long as the implant is present.

@user490 said:

It sounds like patients may want to review the parameters

Except it's not that simple unless you're a physicist. Too many factors go into the settings when taking an MRI for a patient, and even most radiologists, to know if a particular scan is compatible or not. I haven't found any documentation, for example, on what specific absorption rate this implant can handle. In fact, I don't even remember what my own implant can handle… and I don't need to know because ultimately, the radiology practice has to do its own checking regardless of what the patient tells them. Just remember, up to 3T (but not always 3T).

@spade123 said:

More users and long term results (say one to two year plus)

Also hard to believe an internal CI (covered over with skin) will perform at the same level as an external CI.

This data is already available and was required for pre-market approval. An internal mic covered in skin doesn't work as well as one exposed to the air, which is part of the reason why this device is also compatible with external sound processors.

Cochlear Ltd are doing the same work with their fully implantable solution and are already on the third generation of trial devices.