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Intraoperative measurement for a new transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant
Johannes Schnabl1, Astrid Wolf-Magele, Stefan Marcel Pok
1*Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Karl Landsteiner University Hospital, St. Pölten, Austria; †Karl Landsteiner Institut für implantierbare Hörsysteme; and ‡Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Department of Systematic Anatomy, Medical University Vienna, Austria.
Objective:
To investigate the possibility of using a modified reverse transfer function (RTF) measurement intraoperatively during surgery of a new transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant to evaluate the status of the device.
Methods:
Tests were performed on a cadaver skull (preclinically) and two conductive hearing loss patients implanted with a new transcutaneous bone conduction implant. During intraoperative activation, the RTF was measured using a microphone attached perpendicularly and directly to the skin in the middle section of the forehead.
Results:
The RTF could be measured for all frequencies from 500 to 6, 000 Hz.
Conclusion:
The usage of an intraoperative RTF measurement may be a good method to verify the mechanical coupling of the bone conduction floating mass transducer and to test the functional integrity of the implant in an objective way.
