[Organization of remote long-term support of the patients with cochlear implants in distant regions]

The concept of remote long-term support of the patients with cochlear implants is suggested to cope with the problem of the increasingly growing number of patients with cochlear pathology. The authors deem it necessary to provide intraoperative support and postoperative follow-up technologies for the patients living far from the cochlear implantation centres. A scheme for the remote selection of patients and their intraoperative monitoring is proposed with the use of implant telemetry, electrical stapedial reflex (eSRT) testing, auditory response telemetry (ART), and surgical on-line counseling. Remote follow-up and rehabilitation should include cochlear implant tuning, speech therapy, and on-line workshops for the patients and/or specialists. The choice and the use of software and hardware for this purpose are discussed. The concept of remote long-term support turned out to be an efficacious, reliable, time-saving, and cost-effective tool for providing high-tech medical aid to patients with ENT diseases in the Krasnoyarsk kray (territory).