A Capacitive Cochlear Implant Electrode Array Sensing System to Discriminate Fold-Over Pattern

Abstract

Purpose During insertion of the cochlear implant electrode array, the tip of the array may fold back on itself and can cause serious complications to patients. This article presents a sensing system for cochlear implantation in a cochlear model. The electrode array fold-over behaviors can be detected by analyzing capacitive information from the array tip. Method Depending on the angle of the array tip against the cochlear inner wall when it enters the cochlear model, different insertion patterns of the electrode array could occur, including smooth insertion, buckling, and fold-over. The insertion force simulating the haptic feedback for surgeons and bipolar capacitance signals during the insertion progress were collected and compared. The Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) was applied to the collected capacitive signals to discriminate the fold-over pattern. Results Forty-six electrode array insertions were conducted and the deviation of the measured insertion force varies between a range of 20% and 30%. The capacitance values from electrode pair (1, 2) were recorded for analyzing. A threshold for the PCC is set to be 0.94 that can successfully discriminate the fold over insertions from the other two types of insertions, with a success rate of 97.83%. Conclusions Capacitive measurement is an effective method for the detection of faulty insertions and the maximization of the outcome of cochlear implantation. The proposed capacitive sensing system can be used in other tissue implants in vessels, spinal cord, or heart.

Postoperative Impedance-Based Estimation of Cochlear Implant Electrode Insertion Depth

“…Furthermore, advances in impedance field telemetry (IFT) provide information about the patient’s anatomy and CI electrode contacts ( Vanpoucke et al 2004 ; Tykocinski et al 2005 ). This led several research groups to develop methods to infer electrode positions ( de Rijk et al 2020 ; Dong et al 2021 ; Hou et al 2021 ; Klabbers et al 2021 ; Hoppe et al 2022 ), the array orientation during insertion ( Hafeez et al 2021 ), and the proximity of contacts to the modiolus or the facial nerve ( Giardina et al 2017 ; Pile et al 2017 ; Bruns et al 2021 ; Sijgers et al 2022 ) from IFT data.…”

Real-Time Data-Driven Approach for Prediction and Correction of Electrode Array Trajectory in Cochlear Implantation

“…Tripolar and tetrapolar impedance measurement also needs to be investigated in cochlear implantation. Electrical impedance is also used for detection of EA insertion failure and translocation [30][31][32]. Most recently, electrode impedance recordings were used for insertion depth estimation [33].…”