Redesign of the Hannover Coupler: Optimized Vibration Transfer from Floating Mass Transducer to Round Window. (14th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Müller, Mathias; Salcher, Rolf; Prenzler, Nils; Lenarz, Thomas; Maier, Hannes
• Other Names: Kompis Martin Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2018(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-05-14
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2018/3701954
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction . In order to reduce the large variations in clinical outcomes of patients with implanted MED-EL Floating Mass Transducer (FMT) at the round window (RW), several approaches were proposed to optimize FMT-RW coupling. Our previous study showed improved FMT-RW coupling by applying static RW loads utilizing the "Hannover Coupler" (HC) FMT-prosthesis but also demonstrated insufficient low frequency performance. Hence, a redesigned HC version (HCv2) was investigated in this study. Methods . Experiments were performed in ASTM F2504-05 compliant fresh human temporal bones. The HCv2 is a FMT-prosthesis redesigned from a previous prototype to specifically improve low frequency performance. Stapes footplate (SFP) displacements in response to acoustic stimulation of the tympanic membrane and to FMT-RW stimulation at varying static force (0–100 mN) were measured by Laser-Doppler vibrometry. Results . SFP displacements were highly dependent on the applied RW load and had a global maximum at 15 mN when averaged at speech relevant frequencies (0.5–4 kHz). SFP responses at frequencies ≤ 1 kHz were up to 25 dB higher than responses achieved with the previous HC version. Conclusion . Optimizing the HC prosthesis design resulted in improved SFP responses to RW stimulation especially at lower frequencies (≤1 kHz).