Putting a Powerful Computer in a Small Patient: Challenges in Providing an ABI

The auditory brainstem implant (ABI) can be viewed simplistically as a digital sound processor made small enough to implant in the brain. Placing this new auditory sensory device in a very young child can be especially challenging, but is necessary to overcome the life handicap of profound hearing loss in the congenitally deaf child. We explain the multidisciplinary problem-solving required to enable ABI placement in the developing nervous system of the young deaf child.