The UCSF/Storz multichannel cochlear implant: patient results.

Using the four channel cochlear implant system with a vocoder-based processor developed at UCSF over an extensive period of research, clinical trials of the UCSF/Storz device were initiated in February 1985, under the sponsorship of Storz Instrument Company. To date, 13 patients have been implanted with this device, nine of whom have been fitted with their external processor and transmitter and have received at least their initial postoperative evaluation. Patient results have been extremely promising, with eight of the nine patients obtaining some open-set auditory only speech understanding. Most patients have demonstrated improvement over time and all patients have attained an enhancement in lipreading ability with the use of the UCSF/Storz device.