Med-El Corporation Launches Revolutionary Cochlear Implant In Canada

PULSARCI100 Reduces Need For Additional Surgery

June 1, 2005, Research Triangle Park, NC -- MED-EL Corporation, a North American implantable hearing technology firm, announced today that it has received approval to distribute a revolutionary cochlear implant system the PULSARCI100 into the Canadian market. This new system is the first to incorporate the patented I100 technology, a highly durable and power-efficient electronics platform with wafer-thin layers of sophisticated electronics arranged on a single miniaturized chip.

"The PULSARCI100 implant offers a number of potential advantages when
compared to other available devices," says Dr. Lorne Parnes of the London
Health Sciences Center in London, Ontario. "Its thinner and longer electrode design allows for a less traumatic and deeper insertion, which translates into more potential for some natural hearing preservation and more precise stimulation of lower, important speech frequencies." Last month, Dr. Parnes became the first to implant a Pulsar device in Canada.

One of Pulsar's most attractive and key features is that it is safe and compatible for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at field strengths of 0.2, 1.0 and 1.5 Tesla. Other cochlear implant devices require a minor surgical procedure to remove some parts of the device before an MRI can be used.

"We are always looking for ways to improve the understanding of speech in difficult listening environments and appreciation of music by our cochlear implant users," says Kim Jackson, Interim CEO of MED-EL Corporation. "Improving our patients' quality of life is our foremost concern. We are proud to be serving the deaf community in Canada."

Cochlear implants were developed in the 1970¹s to help severe to profoundly deaf individuals who gain little or no benefit from hearing aids. Patients wear a small speech processor behind the ear that picks up sound from the environment and transmits it to an internal component using specialized radio-frequency transmission.

About MED-EL Corporation

Since its founders developed one of the world¹s first cochlear implants in
1975, MED-EL has set new standards in hearing implant technologies,
developing and manufacturing technologically advanced hearing solutions for people with varying degrees of hearing loss. MED-EL hearing implant systems, currently used in 70 countries, combines the latest scientific advancements and pioneering engineering and manufacturing techniques for performance, safety and reliability. For more information, see www.medel.com or call (888) MED-EL-CI (633-3524).