MED-EL Announces First U.S. and Canadian SONATATI100 Cochlear Implant Surgeries

Editor: Many people don't know that there are THREE implants available in the US. MED-EL, which is the least-known company, has begun implanting their new SONATATI implants in the US and Canada.

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Smallest and Lightest Weight Titanium Cochlear Implant Available Launched at AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting

Durham, NC - (September 17, 2007) - MED-EL Corporation announced today the first two North American surgical implants of the new SONATATI100 cochlear implant. The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC, implanted a patient on September 5 and London Health Sciences Centre, Ontario, Canada, implanted a patient on September 11, 2007. SONATATI100, launched today at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting, is now available.

Harold Pillsbury, M.D., the Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, performed the surgery at UNC-Chapel Hill. Lorne Parnes, M.D., Otolaryngologist at London Health Sciences Centre, performed the surgery at London Health Sciences Centre.

"The new SONATATI100 cochlear implant from MED-EL has a titanium housing which provides a new choice for implant selection," said Dr. Parnes. "In addition, the thinner size and new magnet configuration means that we can make a smaller incision. A smaller surgical site is less invasive and allows for a quicker surgery and shorter recovery time, and leaves less of a scar."

Engineered for unparalleled precision and performance, both MED-EL's SONATATI100 and PULSARCI100 cochlear implants combine the smallest, thinnest and lightest weight implant available with MED-EL's powerful next generation I100 electronics. This technology is essential for MED-EL's advanced research and developments in the areas of music enjoyment and speech understanding in difficult listening situations. The SONATATI100 and PULSARCI100 are also "future-ready," designed to implement future upgrades and enhancements. The SONATATI100 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and by Health Canada earlier this year.

"This new device offers the opportunity for surgeons to use a smaller incision with a smaller surgical bed, due to the fact that this is the smallest cochlear implant of all three manufacturers," said Dr. Pillsbury.

About Hearing Loss in the United States and Canada

Hearing loss has a profound impact on the everyday lives of Americans. Approximately 31.5 million Americans - or 1 in 10 - suffer from some kind of hearing loss. The most common form of hearing loss is sensorineural, which affects an estimated 60 percent of those with hearing loss. This involves damage to the inner ear caused by aging, pre-natal and birth-related problems, viral and bacterial infections, heredity, trauma, exposure to loud noise, or a benign tumor in the inner ear, as well as a significant number of unknown reasons. Similarly, one in 10 Canadians has some form of hearing loss. Hearing loss is the most common sensory impairment in adults over the age of 65, affecting more than 30% of Canadians in this age group.

About MED-EL Corporation