Nankai University Develops Biomimetic Auditory Nerve Interface

A team led by Professor Xu Wentao at Nankai University has successfully developed the world's first biomimetic auditory nerve interface. This innovative technology provides a novel electronic alternative for hearing restoration, particularly for individuals with damaged or absent auditory nerves, offering a new pathway beyond conventional cochlear implants.

Sensorineural hearing loss affects nearly 3% of the global population. While traditional cochlear implants convert sound into electrical signals, they rely on the patient's remaining auditory nerve to transmit information to the brain. When this nerve is missing or severely impaired, even advanced implants struggle to restore functional hearing.

The Nankai University interface integrates sound signal acquisition, neuromorphic encoding, natural semantics processing, and bioelectrical signal output. It mimics the cochlea's sound perception and the brain's neural networks for sound filtering and analysis. The system then converts processed information into biological electrical pulses, establishing a stable connection with living nerves to create a complete closed loop for sound perception, information processing, and neural transmission.

In animal experiments, deafened rabbits implanted with the interface regained auditory perception and could recognize spoken commands, performing associated tasks like typing or kicking a ball. This demonstrated the system's ability to process information semantically, enabling it to understand meaning and translate it into action, mirroring the capabilities of natural auditory nerves. The findings were published in Nature Materials.