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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Enhancing Electrode Location Assessment in Cochlear Implantation via Computed Tomography Image Fusion
Published on: January 17, 2025
Quality control after cochlear implant surgery by means of rotational tomography
Antje Aschendorff1, Ralf Kubalek, Bernd Turowski
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. asch@hno1.ukl.uni-freiburg.de
Objective:
To investigate the intracochlear electrode position in using rotational tomography in adult cochlear implant patients.
Study Design:
Retrospective.
Setting:
Tertiary referral center.
Patients:
Eighteen adult patients being implanted either with a Nucleus straight electrode array or a Contour electrode with a total of 22 implanted ears. Preoperative computed tomography had been without evidence for obliteration, ossification, or malformation of the cochlea.
Intervention:
Rotational tomography.
Main Outcome Measures:
The intracochlear electrode position was evaluated with regard to scala tympani, scala vestibuli, and a dislocation from one scala to the other. The intraoperative procedure was compared with the electrode position by analyzing the operating reports.
Results:
Preliminary results indicate, respectively, that there is a higher incidence of intracochlear trauma in using the Contour electrode array than expected with a more frequent dislocation of electrode arrays from scala tympani to scala vestibuli and that there is a higher rate of scala vestibuli insertions.
Conclusions:
The impact of these findings may influence further developments of electrode arrays as well as surgical techniques for implantation.
