Can UmboMic Revolutionize Implantable Microphones?

A multidisciplinary team at MIT, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, and Columbia University have created the UmboMic — a new biocompatible audio sensor microphone that outperforms conventional cochlear microphones. With the UmboMic’s new design and proof-of-concept, this fully implantable microphone is said to perform twice as well as existing cochlear microphones.

What else makes the UmboMic revolutionary? Unlike current cochlear microphones, the UmboMic is fully implantable and does not require external components to be attached. The UmboMic also includes a piezoelectric sensor to help measure tiny movements on the underside of the eardrum, while acting as a high-performance, low-noise amplifier (LNA).

The UmboMic works by having an extremely sensitive sensor with a high-performance differential LNA embedded in the UmboMic. The sensor is constructed of symmetrical layers on both sides of a flex PCB core. The result is a highly sensitive microphone with biocompatibility characteristics that allow it to be implanted into one’s umbo.

The UmboMic is reported to have a performance of “32.3 dB SPL over the frequency range 100 Hz to 7 kHz, good linearity, and a flat frequency response to within 10 dB from about 100 Hz to 6 kHz.”. This even outperforms the typical human hearing of a flat frequency response in the 100 Hz to 4 kHz range. This makes all the difference for individuals with severe hearing loss due to inner ear damage.

With this type of technology and design, one might wonder if the UmboMic is safe to wear and frankly speaking, implant into one’s ear. Well, the UmboMic is made of polyvinylidene fluoride making it a biocompatible microphone that can be safely attached to the eardrum or umbo of a person. This means the UmboMic will be implanted just in the small conical structure section of the tympanic membrane.

While all this sounds exciting, the team has yet to test out the UmboMic in a living host, or living human. So far, the UmboMic has only been tested in cadaver ears. With that, the team still needs to fully verify the biocompatibility of the UmboMic for an implant with a ten-plus-year lifespan.

Nonetheless, the very thought of having a fully implantable microphone in the near future shows the potential development and technology that can revolutionize the world of implantable microphones, and the future of microphones as a whole.