Piezoelectric middle ear implant preserving the ossicular chain

The authors developed a research program on piezoelectric middle ear implants. A piezoelectric vibrator was implanted on guinea pigs, enabling piezoelectric auditory-evoked recording. The shape and sizes of a vibrator for humans were determined by a human temporal bone study. These human-type vibrators showed good performances in vitro. A particular vibrator for humans that can be implanted on the stapes' head, without irreversibly interrupting the ossicular chain, was designed by the authors.