Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital

Under the theme of “Cochlear Implantation and Related Technologies,” the 14th Hallym-Columbia-Weill Cornell-NYP International Symposium was successfully held at Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital on March 17, 2017.

The symposium attracted nearly 130 participants, including 12 speakers from 4 different countries, who joined the meeting to share expert knowledge on cochlear implantation.

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Kyung-Soon Hong, Dean for Hallym University College of Medicine welcomed all participants and said, “With the arrival of a new era of the fourth industrial revolution, innovative technological advances are being made in the field of medicine as well. At this moment, it should be very meaningful to share knowledge and experience on cochlear implantation together with experts around the world.”

Prominent scholars in this field including Prof. Lawrence R. Lustig from Columbia University, Prof. Helge Rask-Andersen from Uppsala University, Prof. Akira Ishiyama and Prof. Sung K. Moon from UCLA, and Prof. Haruo Takahashi from Nagasaki University gave presentations and led discussions which covered various topics, both basic and clinical ones.

The symposium was comprised of three sessions and 15 lectures. The topics of the first session were ‘Cochlear implantation for single sided deafness’, ‘Cortical plasticity and cochlear implant potentialities in single side deafness’, ‘Bilateral cochlear implantation for children – Nagasaki experience’, ‘Surgical considerations for cochlear implantation’, and ‘Cochlear implantation in children with cochlear nerve deficiency and/or inner ear malformations.’

In Session 2, participants discussed on ‘Hearing loss and rehabilitation – from the perspective of deaf brain’, ‘Damage of inner ear hair cells and its prevention – auditory cell line culture’, ‘Immunological role of cochlear fibrocytes’, ‘Bimodal fitting of hearing devices – Candidacy & Method’, and ‘The human cochlear including surgical aspects – fine structure and immunohistochemistry with super-resolution structured-illumination microscopy (SR-SIM).’

The last session covered some topics of related technologies, which were ‘The role of cochlear implantation as a solution for intractable tinnitus’, ‘Cochlear implantation in chronic otitis media cases’, ‘Human temporal bone histopathology in hearing preservation for cochlear implantation’, ‘Hearing preservation CI’, and ‘Cochlear implants – Can we do better?’.

Dr. Hae-Ran Lee, President of Hallym University Medical Center said, “Since the invention of cochlear implant, there has been remarkable development in this technology as well as the expansion of surgical targets and treatment field.” She added, “Through the academic collaboration like this, we will be able to improve the quality of life in patients with hearing loss.”

The specific programs including topics and speakers are as follows:

■ Session 1
1. Cochlear implantation for single sided deafness
(Prof. Lawrence R. Lustig, Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Columbia University)
2. Cortical plasticity and cochlear implant potentialities in single side deafness
(Prof. Seung Ha Oh, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Seoul National University)
3. Bilateral cochlear implantation for children – Nagasaki experience
(Prof. Haruo Takahashi, Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Nagasaki University)
4. Surgical considerations for cochlear implantation
(Prof. Akira Ishiyama, Dept. of Head & Neck Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles)
5. Cochlear implantation in children with cochlear nerve deficiency and/or inner ear malformations
(Prof. Lee-Suk Kim, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Dong-A University)

■ Session 2
1. Hearing loss and rehabilitation – from the perspective of deaf brain
(Prof. Hyo-Jeong Lee, Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Hallym University)
2. Damage of inner ear hair cells and its prevention – auditory cell line culture
(Prof. Jiwon Chang, Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Hallym University)
3. Immunological role of cochlear fibrocytes
(Prof. Sung K. Moon, Dept. of Head & Neck Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles)
4. Bimodal fitting of hearing devices – Candidacy & Method
(Prof. Junghak Lee, Dept. of Audiology, Hallym University of Graduate Studies)
5. The human cochlea including surgical aspects – fine structure and immunohistochemistry with super-resolution structured-illumination microscopy (SR-SIM)
(Prof. Helge Rask-Andersen, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University)

■ Session 3
1. The role of cochlear implantation as a solution for intractable tinnitus
(Prof. Shi Nae Park, Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea)
2. Cochlear implantation in chronic otitis media cases
(Prof. Hyung-Jong Kim, Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Hallym University)
3. Human temporal bone histopathology in hearing preservation for cochlear implantation
(Prof. Akira Ishiyama, Dept. of Head & Neck Surery, University of California, Los Angeles)
4. Hearing preservation CI
(Prof. Helge Rask-Andersen, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Uppsala University)
5. Cochlear implants – Can we do better?
(Prof. Lawrence R. Lustig, Dept. Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Columbia University)

By Chul Kwon, Int’l Cooperation Team, HUMC (chris@hallym.or.kr)