Silicon Microsystems for use in Neuroscience and Neural Prostheses: Interfacing with the Central Nervous System
Kensall D. Wise
William Gould Dow Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2122.
This article will review the technologies, circuits, and system
partitioning issues in these microsystems and prospects for their
continued development.
A Partnership in Research Leading to the Bionic Ear and Beyond
In the 1970’s, Professor Graeme Clark led a team of multidisciplinary researchers at the University of Melbourne to develop the first multiple-channel cochlear implant, or bionic ear. In 1978, the world’s first cochlear device was implanted in a human in an operation performed in Melbourne. The bionic ear had become a reality. This event signified the special achievement of Professor Graeme Clark, who was inspired at a young age by his father’s profound deafness to want to help deaf people hear. Since then, over 100,000 people around the world have had their hearing restored through a cochlear implant.
Professor Clark’s achievement remains an inspiration for the ICT for Life Sciences Forum. It demonstrated the great value to society of combining knowledge from engineering and the life sciences to work in partnership to address a problem that has a profound impact on the lives of many people around the world.
Kensall D. Wise
In the 1970’s, Professor Graeme Clark led a team of multidisciplinary researchers at the University of Melbourne to develop the first multiple-channel cochlear implant, or bionic ear. In 1978, the world’s first cochlear device was implanted in a human in an operation performed in Melbourne. The bionic ear had become a reality. This event signified the special achievement of Professor Graeme Clark, who was inspired at a young age by his father’s profound deafness to want to help deaf people hear. Since then, over 100,000 people around the world have had their hearing restored through a cochlear implant.
