2009 Conference on Implantable Auditory Prostheses

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks partial support for the 2009 Conference on Implantable Auditory Prostheses, scheduled at the Granlibakken Conference Center, Lake Tahoe, CA, July 12-17, 2009. The cochlear implant is the first neural prosthesis to achieve the technical success necessary for widespread clinical application. It provides the only effective therapy for restoring sound sensation and speech understanding to the profoundly deaf. Over the past 20 years dramatic improvements in patients' performance with these devices have been achieved. Currently the average speech understanding score for implanted postlingually deafened adults is between 80-100% correct. Congenitally deaf children are achieving normal rates of speech and language development with cochlear implants. These advances have derived substantially from the collective efforts of researchers in a broad array of scientific disciplines. This close collaboration and cooperation has been fostered in large part through this series of biennial research conferences, originating with a 1983 Gordon Conference. These conferences are the only forum in which scientific research issues are the sole focus. Topics to receive emphasis in this meeting are: the electrode-neural interface, acoustic signal pre-processing, physiological measures of auditory performance, combined electric and acoustic stimulation, bilateral implants in adults and children, implants in the auditory brainstem and midbrain, regeneration and rescue of spiral ganglion neurons, and plasticity and development. In addition there will be a special session honoring the contributions of Margo Skinner to implant research. In sum, the conference will continue the tradition of bringing together knowledge and data from a wide range of disciplines in an effort to better understand electrical stimulation of the cochlea and to improve the performance of patients fitted with cochlear implants.