The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an affordable cochlear implant, which will cost around 1 lakh rupees.
According to a DRDO release, this is much cheaper than similar imported device which costs about 8 lakh rupees.
The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), based at Visakhapatnam, a unit of DRDO has developed cochlear implant which is also known as bionic ear.
It is reported that, this device is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing due to loss of sensory hair cells in their cochlea.
There are nearly one million people in the country who need cochlear implants. Every year nearly 10,000 children are born with this impairment. The indigenously developed device will bring great relief as it is much cheaper as compared to the imported device.
