MED-EL Corporation's Revolutionary Cochlear Implant System Offers Highly Sophisticated Hearing Capabilities to Profoundly Deaf

From: PR Newswire (press release), NY - Aug 29, 2005

New PULSARCI100 Improves Hearing and Research with Patented Technology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- MED-EL Corporation, an implantable hearing technology firm, today introduced the revolutionary PULSARCI100, which offers some of the most highly advanced cochlear implant technology available in the United States. This new implant is the first to incorporate I100 technology, a highly durable and power-efficient electronics platform with wafer-thin layers of sophisticated electronics arranged on a single miniaturized chip.

"For over two decades, MED-EL has searched for ways to improve the understanding of speech in difficult listening environments and heighten the appreciation of music for cochlear implant users," explains Kim Jackson, Interim CEO of MED-EL Corporation. "We are confident that current and future research with the PULSARCI100 will bring us closer to realizing our mission."

The PULSARCI100 has also been proven safe and compatible for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at a field strength of 0.2-Tesla. Other cochlear implant devices require a surgical procedure to remove the implant's internal magnet before an MRI scan can be performed. MRI with MED-EL Cochlear Implants does not require any additional surgery.

"We have been waiting for the opportunity to offer this device to our patients because of the new, advanced electronic design and the chance to provide patients with the absolute latest in cochlear implant technology," says Dr. Pillsbury of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cochlear implants were developed in the 1970's to help individuals with severe to profound hearing loss who gain little or no benefit from hearing aids. Patients wear a small speech processor behind the ear that picks up sound from the environment and transmits it to an internal component using specialized radio-frequency transmission.

About MED-EL Corporation
Since its founders developed one of the world's first cochlear implants in 1975, MED-EL has set new standards in hearing implant technologies, developing and manufacturing technologically advanced hearing solutions for people with varying degrees of hearing loss. MED-EL hearing implant systems, currently used in 70 countries, combines the latest scientific advances, engineering and manufacturing techniques for performance, safety and reliability. For more information, see http://www.medel.com or call 888-MED-EL-CI (633-3524).

Audrey Whaley
919-844-2764
awhaley@merrellgroup.com

SOURCE MED-EL Corporation
Web Site: http://www.medel.com

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