WVU engineer to study new implantable device to treat severe hearing loss

Loren Rieth (WVU Photo/Paige Nesbit)

A West Virginia University engineer is collaborating with an international team of engineers, surgeons and medical researchers to study a new hearing treatment to restore more natural hearing for individuals who are deaf or severely hard-of hearing. 

Story by Olivia Miller, Communications Specialist

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Loren Rieth, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the Statler College and leading researcher in the field of neural engineering and bio electronic medicine, will lead the development of materials, integration and architecture of a new implantable hearing device to help those who cannot benefit from traditional treatment. 

The research is supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Brain Initiative grant to develop and evaluate a hearing device that will directly stimulate the auditory nerve. The project is funded  with up to $9.7 million to support development of the device and a clinical investigation. 

According to Rieth traditional cochlear implants have transformed deafness since they became available in the 1980s.  

“Traditional hearing aids use an electrode array implanted in the bony, snail-shaped structure in the ear, called the cochlea, to stimulate the auditory nerve that connects the ear to the brain,” Rieth said. “While the cochlear implants have been remarkably successful at treating hearing loss for many people, there are also many individuals who are not successful treated with this type of device due to anatomical issues.”  

The National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders indicates the number of people who use cochlear implants continues to grow, and that more than 324,200 people around the world have cochlear implants—including more than 96,000 people in the United States, of which approximately 38,000 are children.  

The intracranial auditory nerve implant has the potential to improve the quality of perceived sounds due to the placement of the electrode directly into the auditory nerve, instead of stimulating the nerve through the bony wall of the cochlea, Rieth explained. 

“I am truly honored and excited to collaborate with a dream team of doctors, engineers, scientists, and companies, and to be supported by the NIH so that we can aim toward creating a device that directly stimulates the auditory nerve and brings back hearing for patients who are currently left with no solution,” Rieth said. “I’m excited by the opportunity to apply the nerve stimulation approaches towards hearing loss restoration by directly tapping into the nerve that link the ear to the brain.” 

Rieth will also lead work on pre-clinical studies to evaluate the performance of this technology in close collaboration with David Warren from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Utah. He will utilize the Lane Innovation Hub to develop and make advanced 3D printed parts, molds, tools and fixtures for supporting device fabrication and also in the preclinical studies. Reith explained this involves connector systems, cochlear stimulator housings, and also components used in fatigue testing for advanced leads used for the device.  

The study is lead by the University of Minnesota and encompasses a global team of researchers spanning as far as Austria. 

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