By: Birgit Philipsa, Anke Plasmansa, Prof. Dr. Ingeborg Dhoogeb
In September 2016, Cochlear introduced the Kanso™ off-the-ear (OTE) sound processor. This paper summarizes a clinical investigation of the Kanso device with existing pediatric cochlear implant users, and discusses considerations for use with this population. Clinical testing compared the performance outcomes of Kanso with a conventional behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processor, and collected subjective feedback on comfort, retention, aesthetics and ease of use ratings for pediatric users. The outcomes were found to be consistent with recently published results in adult Kanso users, demonstrating equivalent speech understanding in quiet and in co-located speech and noise, and positive subjective feedback on the device.