A total of 35 chidren below the age of five have been identified for cochlear implant surgeries from Dakshina Kannada district, state Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader has said.
The State government had launched a pilot project to detect and treat hearing impairment in kids and would provide free treatment for them under the programme, he said in an official release here.
The cost of cochlear implant was Rs 6.50 lakh and after the implant the kids would also have to undergo speech therapy, he said.
The surgery would be done at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health Hospital in Bengaluru once the cochlear implants were ready, he said.
He also said that the health department would introduce bike ambulances in Bengaluru by January end. The facility would be later extended to Mysuru, Hubballi, Belagavi and Mangaluru. The service was expected to reduce the delay caused due to traffic jam while shifting patients to hospital.