{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:48:48Z","timestamp":1760240928388,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,16]],"date-time":"2019-10-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1571184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008626","name":"Cochlear","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["ICAR"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ICAR"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008626","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Current cochlear implant (CI) systems provide substantial benefits for patients with severe hearing loss. However, they do not allow for 24\/7 hearing, mainly due to the external parts that cannot be worn in all everyday situations. One of the key missing parts for a totally implantable CI (TICI) is the microphone, which thus far has not been implantable. The goal of the current project was to develop a concept for a packaging technology for state-of-the-art microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones that record the liquid-borne sound inside the inner ear (cochlea) as a microphone signal input for a TICI. The packaging concept incorporates requirements, such as biocompatibility, long-term hermeticity, a high sensing performance and a form factor that allows sensing inside the human cochlea and full integration into the existing CI electrode array. The present paper (1) describes the sensor packaging concept and the corresponding numerical and experimental design verification process and (2) gives insight into new engineering solutions for sensor packaging. Overall, a packaging concept was developed that enables MEMS microphone technology to be used for a TICI system.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s19204487","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,17]],"date-time":"2019-10-17T04:46:06Z","timestamp":1571287566000},"page":"4487","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Packaging Technology for an Implantable Inner Ear MEMS Microphone"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Lukas","family":"Prochazka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Huber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Ivo","family":"Dobrev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"Harris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cochlear Technology Centre, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium"}]},{"given":"Adrian","family":"Dalbert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2425-9792","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christof","family":"R\u00f6\u00f6sli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6062-9076","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dominik","family":"Obrist","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ARTORG Center, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3937-1266","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Flurin","family":"Pfiffner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"University of Z\u00fcrich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pulcherio, J.O.B., Bittencourt, A.G., Burke, P.R., Costa Monsanto, R., Brito, R., Tsuji, R.K., and Bento, R.F. 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