Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Robotic Cochlear Implantation for Direct Cochlear Access
Published on: June 16, 2022
Direct cost of cochlear implants in Germany - a strategic simulation
Christin Thum1, Thomas Lenarz2, Steffen Fleßa3
1Department of General Business Administration and Health Care Management, Faculty of Law and Economics, University of Greifswald, Friedrich-Loeffler-Str. 70, 17489, Greifswald, Germany. christin.thum@web.de.
Background:
Despite the current undersupply of cochlear implants (CIs) with simultaneously increasing indication, CI implantation numbers in Germany still are at a relatively low level.
Methods:
As there are hardly any solid forecasts available in the literature, we develop a System Dynamics model that forecasts the number and costs of CI implantations in adults for 40 years from a social health insurance (SHI) perspective.
Results:
CI demand will grow marginally by demographic changes causing average annual costs of about 538 million €. Medical-technical progress with following relaxed indication criteria and patients' increasing willingness for implantation will increase implantation numbers significantly with average annual costs of 765 million €.
Conclusion:
CI demand by adults will increase in the future, thus will the costs for CI supply. Continuous research and development in CI technology and supply is crucial to ensure long-term financing of the growing CI demand through cost-reducing innovations.
