The brief

Analyst view

• Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair developed the first microelectronic cochlear implant in 1977 at TU Vienna.
• Founded MED-EL in 1990 in Innsbruck, Austria; still privately held and CEO-led by Ingeborg.
• TICI UNICO (Sep 2026) is the first totally implantable cochlear implant; all components beneath skin.

Technical approach

As reported

Implanted microphone

Transcutaneous sound capture

Innovative microphone captures sound through skin via vibration sensing.

On-implant processor

Signal encoding in the implant

Processor encodes sound directly; no external device needed.

Wireless power

Inductive coupling through skin

Implant powered inductively through the skin; no batteries or wires.