A new generation of smaller and more powerful cochlear implants are intended to be more precise and offer greater sound quality. An implanted transducer is pressure-fitted onto the incus bone in the inner ear. The transducer causes the bones to vibrate and move the fluid in the inner ear, which stimulates the auditory nerve.

An array at the tip of the device makes use of up to 128 electrodes, which is five times higher than current devices. The higher number of electrodes provides more precision about where and how nerve fibers are stimulated. This can simulate a fuller range of sounds.

The implant is connected to a small microprocessor and a microphone, which are built into a wearable device that clips behind the ear. This captures and translates sounds into electric pulses which are send down a connecting wire through a tiny hole made in the middle ear.

Implant electrodes are continuously decreasing in size and in time could enter the nanoscale.