3-year-old gets AI-based ear implant in Raj

In a first for the government hospitals in the state, an artificial intelligence-based smart cochlear implant has been implanted in the ear of a three-year-old girl at the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences here.

The girl is stable after the nearly three-hour-long successful surgery and is expected to begin hearing and speaking within about 21 days, Dr Mohnish Grover, senior professor in the ENT department, said.

"This is the first such advanced cochlear implant procedure performed at the government hospital in the state, and it could open new possibilities in the treatment of hearing-impaired children," he said.

Dr Grover said the girl had been suffering from congenital hearing impairment, which posed a major challenge for normal hearing and speech development.