Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: IE
Context: The ENT department at Command Hospital in Pune successfully conducted two piezoelectric Bone Conduction Hearing Implants (BCI), making it the first government hospital in India to achieve this milestone.
- The piezoelectric BCI system is an implantable device for hearing-impaired patients with conductive loss, mixed hearing loss, and single-sided deafness.
- This achievement is significant as it addresses the needs of patients who are not candidates for cochlear implants or do not benefit from hearing aids or middle-ear surgery.
Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that builds up in certain materials when mechanical stress is applied to them.
Piezoelectric materials can be found in nature and in synthetic materials.
Quartz is a well-known natural piezoelectric material, while ferroelectric ceramics are the most widely used synthetic piezoelectric materials.
