Cochlear Implant May Restore Balance

After developing a successful models in animals, Charles Santini, a scientist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is designing a vestibular implant to restore the vestibular-ocular reflex, in humans.

Cochlear implants use a microphone and processor to code sound and send it directly to the cochlear nerve via electrodes implanted in the inner ear. They completely bypass the dead hair cells. Similarly, a vestibular implant uses tiny gyroscopic sensors to measure head movement and sends that information straight to the vestibular nerve using electrodes.