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A cochlear implant is a medical device that helps people with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss to perceive sound. Conventional cochlear implants have been used since the 1980s. A totally implantable cochlear implant is a new type of cochlear implant and is currently in development. Unlike a conventional cochlear implant, which has both an internal component and an external component , all the components of the TICI - including the microphone and battery - are implanted under the skin. This makes the TICI completely invisible from the outside.
The TICI is currently in the clinical feasibility study stage of development. The first patient in Europe was implanted with a TICI in September 2020 as part of a clinical trial.