A few days ago, Shanghai Lishengte Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lishengte") announced that it has obtained the production license of the new generation of cochlear implant LCI-21PI and the sound processor LSP-20C, and the built-in chip has achieved completely independent design and production, while reducing the cost of cochlear implants, the four-tone speech coding strategy based on Chinese characteristics is also more suitable for Chinese use.
Lishengte is the first high-tech enterprise in China to obtain a cochlear implant product registration certificate, which was established in 2004 on the basis of the results of the cochlear implant project of the Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, shanghai Institute of Auditory Medicine and the Key Laboratory of Auditory Medicine of the Ministry of Health. After the "multi-channel cochlear implant" technology was officially transferred to Lishengte by the Affiliated Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, the cochlear implant also officially entered localization.
Technical Gospel "Chinese Core" Can Better Understand "Chinese"
It is reported that the new generation of cochlear implants is divided into two parts: LCI-21PI cochlear implants and LSP-20C cochlear voice processors. Different from the current mainstream cochlear implants on the market, Lishengte has realized the independent design and development of chips, not relying on imports, and the core technology is independently controllable; in addition, compared with the price of imported products, domestic cochlear implants also have obvious advantages, and the price of products, surgery and follow-up maintenance is about half of similar products in foreign countries, so that more hearing-impaired people can afford it.
It is worth noting that Lishengte has also innovated and developed a speech coding strategy that is more suitable for the Chinese language, which is clearer for the unique four-tone recognition of Chinese, and more accurately retains the authenticity of the sound, while the imported products are all based on the research and development of the lingua franca (English), which is also the experience that the hearing impaired people are most looking forward to.
Lishengte obtained the first cochlear implant product registration certificate in 2011 and is the leader of the domestic cochlear implant industry. Today, the second generation of products has also been put into production.
The policy is favorable Domestic cochlear implants are expected to replace imports
Cochlear implants is currently recognized in the world can make the double-sided severe or very severe sensorineural deafness patients to restore hearing, it is based on biomedicine, integrated linguistics, electronics, chemistry, bionics and other disciplines and signal processing technology, large-scale integrated circuit technology, precision machining technology and other technologies, is a multidisciplinary cross-integration of high-tech crystallization. With high entry barriers, strong technicality, and high requirements for multidisciplinary interdisciplinary knowledge, imported cochlear implants have occupied the domestic market for a long time. In this context, Lishengte has been committed to the industrialization of high-end medical device products such as domestic cochlear implants since 2004.
Since the end of 2011, the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the Medical Device Technology Industry" and the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry" and the "Division of Labor Plan for Key Work Departments" have been released one after another, and the document points out that a number of domestic high-end medical devices will be focused on the development of import substitution, and mentions the research and development of cochlear implants. After more than ten years of development, Lishengte has successfully developed the first cochlear implant with completely independent intellectual property rights in China, mastered all the core technologies of cochlear implants, reached the international level of similar products, and now, while launching three generations of products, it has also built more than 100 implant centers nationwide and opened service points in many places across the country.
The localization of cochlear implants will change the situation that has always been a low implant rate for the hearing impaired. According to the data of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the number of moderately and severe hearing impaired people in China is close to 30 million, in addition, about 30,000 to 40,000 new babies with congenital hearing impairment are added every year, and about 30,000 children with hearing impairment caused by new drug-induced deafness and late-onset deafness. However, at present, there are only more than 80,000 cases of cochlear implant surgery in China. In recent years, with the technological development of domestic cochlear implants, foreign monopoly barriers have been broken, and the implantation rate has increased.
Since 2018, China has officially launched the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" cochlear implant rescue project, for eligible hearing impaired children free implementation of cochlear implant product implantation and surgical costs and rehabilitation training cost subsidies, many provinces and cities across the country have included cochlear implants in the scope of reimbursement, with the implementation of graded diagnosis and treatment and disease diagnosis related grouping (DRGs) medical insurance payment model and other policies, domestic medical devices ushered in a favorable, domestic cochlear implants are expected to fully achieve import substitution. In the future, Lishengte will continue to increase R&D investment, improve independent R&D capabilities, and continue to practice the social responsibility of the holding subsidiaries of central enterprises, benefiting more hearing-impaired people. Text/Yang Lin
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