Objective measures of cochlear implant electrode position and function
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Objective measures of cochlear implant electrode position and function
IRAS ID
285894
Contact name
Manohar Bance
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Cambridge
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Cochlear implants (CIs) restore hearing to deaf patients by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve using an array of electrodes inserted into the cochlea (inner ear). Ideally, all electrodes should be successfully inserted in the cochlea, with each electrode exciting a discrete range of auditory nerve fibers. Our research investigates two exceptions to this ideal situation, both of which impair the patient's ability to clearly hear sounds such as speech. One exception occurs when some electrodes are located outside the cochlea, limiting the amount of information that is conveyed to the brain and potentially causing unwanted side effects. Our research will identify these extra-cochlear electrodes during the CI operation, by stimulating each electrode in turn and recording from all other electrodes. This "SCINSEV" technique then uses a sophisticated computational method to identify which if any electrodes are out of the cochlea. Even when all electrodes are in the cochlea, however, some may produce broad current spreads, which will "blur" the perception of sounds. Our second "PECAP" method measures these instances by stimulating pairs of electrodes and recording the neural responses. It also uses a new computational method, this time so as to calculate the neural spread from each electrode. Both methods use fast, non-invasive, objective measurements that use the built-in capabilities of the implant The interventions used are very similar to those employed in standard clinical practice, and the results will pave the way for better identification and management of poor hearing by CI patients.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/EM/0263
Date of REC Opinion
19 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion