Cochlear Dummy Electrodes for Insertion Training and Research Purposes: Fabrication, Mechanical Characterization, and...

Area of Science:

• Otorhinolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Cochlear implant surgery requires extensive training with expensive electrode carriers.
• Developing surgical skills for hearing preservation necessitates practice in ex vivo temporal bones.
• Existing methods for evaluating electrode insertion lack reproducibility and cost-effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess cochlear electrode insertion in a plastic scala tympani model.
• To fabricate cost-effective, radio-opaque dummy electrodes with comparable mechanical properties.
• To support the design and development of novel cochlear electrodes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an automated insertion force measurement system to analyze electrode mechanical properties.
• Evaluated MED-EL's FLEX(28), FLEX(24), and FLEX(20) electrodes.
• Fabricated radio-opaque dummy electrodes using polymer filaments instead of platinum-iridium wires.

Main Results:

• Characterized the insertion dynamics and mechanical behavior of different cochlear electrodes.
• Developed low-cost dummy electrodes with stiffness comparable to actual electrodes.
• Dummy electrodes eliminated metallic artifacts in X-ray and CT imaging.

Conclusions:

• Automated insertion force measurement provides a reproducible method for evaluating cochlear electrodes.
• Fabricated dummy electrodes serve as a viable, economical alternative for surgical training and research.
• These dummy electrodes facilitate in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies without expensive carriers.