The ABCIT research platform

We present a portable, binaural, real-time research platform for cochlear implant devices. The platform consists of hardware and software parts. The research hardware is responsible for the 4-channel input audio signal as well as for the electric stimulation of the cochlea. The software includes a highly flexible research environment for the development of sound pre-processing (“speech processing”) and stimulation strategies. The interface between hardware and software is fully bi-directional, supporting recording capabilities of objective measures specific to the connected implant device. Hence, this platform enables the researchers to perform a diversity of experiments related to cochlear implant research.