Health Technology Review No. 3. Cochlear Implantation in Outpatient Settings, August 1992.

摘要

A cochlear implant is a prosthetic device used to produce the sensation of sound through the generation of electrical signals, which are perceived as an analog of environmental sound waves. Most patients with profound sensorineural deafness (no useful hearing) have lost the hair cells that transduce acoustic vibrations into electrical activity in the auditory nerve. Cochlear implant systems employ an externally worn microphone, signal (speech) processor, and transmitter to receive sound and produce electrical signals. The prosthesis includes a surgically implanted receiver and electrode to excite the remaining auditory nerve fibers electrically according to a speech-processing algorithm that is driven by the signals picked up by the external microphone, thus inducing sensations of sound in the patient. This review examines the appropriateness of performing cochlear implant procedures in outpatient clinical settings including ambulatory surgical centers.