A new study has scientists theorizing that the electrical charges naturally present in the ear may eventually be used to power low-voltage hearing devices in the future.
Researchers at MIT, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
(MEEI), and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST)
are theorizing that the electrical charges naturally present in the ear may
eventually be used to power low-voltage hearing devices in the future.
According to research detailed in the current issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology,
implantable electronic devices that monitor inner ear activity could eventually
be powered by the ear itself without impairing hearing.
Scientists have long known that the ear's cochlea houses a
biological battery chamber containing ions. Because potassium and sodium ions
on opposite sides of the chamber membrane are not in balance, an electrical
voltage results. The study involved experiments on guinea pigs fitted with
tiny, low-power devices attached to electrodes implanted in the animals' ears.
The devices were able to wirelessly transmit data about the chemical conditions
of the ear to an external receiver, and at the same time the guinea pigs
responded normally to hearing tests.
Researchers are exploring if developing chips with low-power
voltage needs might lead to devices that could be powered by the ear’s natural
battery. The devices might be used to monitor biological activity in the ears
of people with hearing or balance impairments, or responses to therapies. There
is even a possibility of using the ear’s battery as a power source to drive a
cochlear implant.
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