Research Status and Future Development of Cochlear Reimplantation

Abstract

Cochlear implants are the most successful sensory prostheses worldwide, and they can be useful for patients with severe and profound hearing impairment. However, various complications, including infection, pain, and device failure which is mainly due to falls and trauma, are associated with the use of cochlear implants. Reimplantation is required to replace the initial device in severe complications. Nevertheless, reimplantation can present certain surgical risks and may impose a significant economic and psychological burden on patients and their families; therefore, it requires greater attention and focus. This article presents a review of the literature on cochlear reimplantation and summarizes the current status, knowledge gaps, and future research directions on cochlear reimplantation. Since 1980s, cochlear reimplantation techniques can be considered to be relatively mature; however, some clinical and scientific problems remain unresolved, including the lack of a unified definition of cochlear reimplantation, non-standardized calculation of the reimplantation rat, and insufficient effect assessment. This review highlights the urgent need to establish an international consensus statement on cochlear reimplantation research to standardize the definition, calculation formulas of reimplantation rate, and follow-up systems.

Electrical stimulation of cochlear implant promotes activation of macrophages and fibroblasts under inflammation

“…In 90% of temporal bone specimens of patients receiving cochlear implantation, fibrous tissue is found wrapping around the implanted electrode 35,36 . The fibrous sheath around the electrode leads to poor accuracy of ES 5 and a high possibility of reimplantation 37 . At present, effective treatment specialized for cochlear fibrous after CI is not well developed.…”

“… 35 , 36 The fibrous sheath around the electrode leads to poor accuracy of ES 5 and a high possibility of reimplantation. 37 At present, effective treatment specialized for cochlear fibrous after CI is not well developed.…”

Editorial: Advances in bioelectronics and stimulation strategies for next generation neuroprosthetics

“…Recent technological advances have expanded our understanding of how artificial stimulation interacts with the living nervous system (Riva and Micera, 2021 ; Saha et al, 2021 ; Walter, 2021 ; Ahmed et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2022 ; Yao et al, 2022 ). This Research Topic, contributed to by electrophysiologists, biomedical engineers, computational neuroscientists, and neuropsychologists, provides a state-of-the-art overview of advances in neural stimulation technologies, ranging from recent progress in functional electrical stimulation (FES) to new understanding of how weak electric field (EF) stimulation affects cellular properties.…”

Introductory Chapter: A Short Excursus into the Realm of Cochlear Implants Today

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the device could be further developed, offering new solutions in terms of medical follow-up in a telemedicine context [6][7][8].Another important aspect of the CI development is related to the constantly increasing cost of these devices; while one could assume that hardware and software developments would be reflected in a decrease in the required implant cost, the financial reality is different. To offer the above-mentioned new technological solutions, the manufacturing companies have also increased the costs of the devices.

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“…the device could be further developed, offering new solutions in terms of medical follow-up in a telemedicine context [6][7][8].…”