New Imaging Device Gives Insights Into Hearing

Australian researchers have new technique for studying cochlear implants in children

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A new generation cochlear implant.

A new  brain imaging machine, unveiled at an Australian university on Tuesday, will help scientists better understand how the brain processes information from hearing devices.

It’s the first time researchers have been able to measure brain function of people with cochlear implants using an imaging technique called MEG, or magnetoencephalography. More common techniques interfere with electric impulses in the devices, notes the Sydney Morning Herald.

The new scanner will be especially useful for understanding hearing and brain development in children, whose neural development is at a crucial stage, according to Professor Stephen Crain, director of the research centre at Sydney’s Macquarie University where the new device is housed.

[SMH]