The CLARION® Multi-Strategy™ Cochlear Implant

The Clarion cochlear implant is the result of many years of research and development, first at the University of California, San Francisco and the Research Triangle Institute of North Carolina, and then at advanced Bionics Corporation in Sylmar, California. Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration after carefully monitored investigational clinical trials in both the adult and pediatric populations, it has now been implanted in approximately 3,000 patients worldwide. A fully flexible, programmable system, the Clarion offers multiple strategies and options in speech processing. The coupling mode, the stimulating waveform, and the temporal pattern of stimulation can be selected to allow each patient an opportunity to be fitted with the strategy that offers the highest level of performance. This paper describes the current status of the Clarion system. However, Clarion development has been a dynamic process, and from its initial introduction in 1991, the system has been modified and continually improved. The process of improvement and advancement is ongoing. New speech processing strategies and hardware developments are briefly summarized at the conclusion of this paper.