An advanced software tool for evaluation and rehabilitation of cochlear prosthesis users

Cochlear implants are now widely used as a mean for restoring hearing to profoundly deaf people. There is a great variety in performance of the implanted patients, this depends on the state of the cochlea and the remaining nervous terminations, and also it depends on the site and degree of insertion of the electrodes, on the stimulation strategy and even on the rehabilitation process. After the implantation of the prosthesis, the patient must go through a fitting process, and a long procedure of evaluation and rehabilitation. This paper will present an advanced software used by physicians and technicians for the fitting of cochlear implants and the evaluation of the outcomes and that can be used by either specialists or patients during the rehabilitation process. This tool is essentially composed of two parts. The first part is used for the fitting of the implant; it determines the dynamic range of the electric current that can be used with the patient. It also sets which of the different stimulation channels is exploitable. The second part is used for the testing and the evaluation of the outcomes of different stimulation strategies. This part can be used by the clinician as well as by the patient alone to practice with recorded sounds. All published stimulation strategies can be tested with this software and it´s easy to use with all the known cochlear prostheses. It is also suitable for researchers that want to experience new stimuli patterns or stimulation algorithms