19Device Comparison: Every System Side by Side
A master, side-by-side comparison of the 7 cochlear-implant systems available today — the three major makers (Cochlear, Advanced Bionics, MED-EL), the recently divested Oticon Medical line, and the emerging lower-cost systems from China and Korea. This is a specs-and-features reference, not a league table: it deliberately makes no head-to-head performance claims, because outcomes depend far more on the recipient, the cochlea and the programming than on the badge.
Use the filters to narrow by group and the tabs to switch between implant & array, sound processors, MRI & build and what makes each distinct. Tap any column heading to sort. A dash (—) marks a value that is not publicly published or not independently verifiable — not zero; the smaller makers publish far less, which is itself informative. Specs are drawn from manufacturer technical sheets and peer-reviewed descriptions current to 2025; always confirm against current manufacturer documentation before a clinical decision.
| Advanced BionicsHiRes Ultra 3D | 16 | 16 independent (simultaneous) | Up to 120 spectral bands (current steering) | Lateral-wall & mid-scala | HiFocus SlimJ (lateral-wall, ~413° insertion), HiFocus Mid-Scala (~18.5 mm, ~420°) | HiRes, HiRes Optima, Fidelity 120 (current steering), ClearVoice | Up to ~83,000 pps total (HiRes Optima) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CochlearNucleus Profile Plus | 22 | Single (sequential stimulation) | 22 | Perimodiolar & lateral-wall | Slim Modiolar CI632 (perimodiolar, 14 mm active), Slim Straight CI622 (lateral-wall), Contour Advance CI612 (perimodiolar) | ACE, CIS, MP3000 | Up to ~32,000 pps total (ACE) |
| LISTENTLCI-20PI | 20 | — | 20 | Lateral-wall | LCI-20PI lateral-wall array, 20 electrodes | — | — |
| MED-ELSYNCHRONY 2 | 19 physical (7 basal pairs + 5 apical singles) | 24 independent | 12 | Long lateral-wall (FLEX-tip) | FLEX34 (28.6 mm) → FLEX20 (15.4 mm); Standard/Medium/Compressed; FORM24/FORM19 for malformations | FS4, FS4-p, FSP, HDCIS, CIS (fine-structure coding) | Up to ~50,704 pps total |
| NurotronVenus (CS-10A) | 24 (+2) | — | 24+2 | Lateral-wall | Venus array, ~22 mm, 24 electrodes | C-tone, e-voice, a-beam (proprietary) | — |
| Oticon Medical / NeurelecNeuro Zti (Digisonic SP) | 20 | — | 20 | Lateral-wall | Digisonic SP EVO (~24 mm) and Classic (~25 mm), 20 electrodes | CIS-based (proprietary) | — |
| TODOCSULLIVAN | 32 | — | 32 | Lateral-wall (laser-patterned) | 32 contacts over 24 mm, 0.75 mm spacing | — | — |
Showing 7 of 7systems. Tap any column heading to sort; tap again to reverse. A dash (—) means the value is not publicly published or not independently verifiable — not zero. Specs are drawn from manufacturer technical sheets and peer-reviewed descriptions current to 2025; always confirm against the manufacturer's current documentation before any clinical decision. Historical pioneer electrodes (House/3M single-channel, Ineraid/Symbion) are not implanted today and are covered in the module on the wider device world.
For the engineering behind these numbers, see the three array families, why 22 electrodes behave like 8 channels, and the wider world of makers and pioneer electrodes. The historical pioneer electrodes (House/3M single-channel, Ineraid/Symbion) are not listed here because they are not implanted today.