Researchers at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor recently announced a new hearing aid implant which will directly stimulate the auditory nerves inside the inner ear canal.  Cochlear implants are not new, but existing implants can only attach a few nodes to the inner ear due small size and precision needed.  The U-M implant is revolutionary because the stimulation nodes are spread out across a thin film transistor (TFT).

These TFTs, similar to the ones used in LCD panels, are flexible films that contain the circuitry needed to power an electrode, which is also embedded onto the film. In its current state, the U-M cochlear implant can stimulate up to 128 electrodes at a time -- a far greater range of depth than the 16 or so electrodes on traditional implants.  Furthermore, the entire processor and housing is smaller than a human fingertip, as illustrated. 

Implants generally have faster approval times than pharmaceuticals, and U-M researchers anticipate human implants within four to five years.  With some clever voice recognition and further testing, it’s certainly conceivable that we will have a 21st century Babelfish after all.