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Impedance for different electrode types

Measuring cochlear implant (CI) electrode impedances is common in CI programming appointments to measure the integrity of the implant e.g. whether there are any open or short electrodes. This is because impedance measures the flow of current between intra and...

Cochlear implant electrode insertion technique

Atraumatic cochlear implant insertion techniques (so-called ‘soft surgery’) are now standard practice in most centres for all cases (no longer just for attempted hearing preservation cases). This has led to several studies examining cochlear trauma and electrode insertion force. In...

Robotic insertion of electrode array in cochlear implantation

Cochlear implants (CIs) are commonly used for profound bilateral hearing loss. They have specific national guidance for their insertion, however patients with a substantial residual acoustic hearing are potential CI candidates. Preservation of this residual hearing can be sought with...

Recording of electrode voltages (REVS) to determine extra-cochlear electrodes

Determining whether electrodes are sitting within the cochlea can be difficult as the checks run by the programming software cannot always determine this. In some cases, patients may be unable to give the audiologist detailed feedback which can complicate the...

Hearing preservation and device benefit following implantation of short or hybrid electrodes

Hybrid or short electrodes have increasingly been used in the literature in order to combine electrical with hearing-aid stimulation. However, hearing preservation of the residual low-frequencies are of utmost importance in this attempt. The present study compared hearing preservation and...

Electrodes and the stapedial reflex

This study had two main objectives: testing the efficiency of the sequential stimulation of four different electrodes versus a single electrode on the threshold of the stapedial reflex; and correlating the values with the minimum comfort level (MCL). The study...

Clinical evaluation of an image-guided cochlear implant programming strategy

This study ingeniously combines two current areas of active research in cochlear implantation (CI), the first is the use of imaging to assess intra-cochlear electrode position. The second, is the optimisation of a programming strategy to prevent current spread between...

X-ray vs. intraoperative testing for determining cochlear implant placement

Most cochlear implant centres confirm electrode position after surgery using X-rays to ensure optimal electrode placement. As well as transorbital view X-rays, this team check placement using impedance measures and neural response telemetry (NRT) performed intraoperatively. The former indicates whether...

CT guided cochlear implant programming improves performance

There is currently no national (UK) consensus on imaging patients for cochlear implantation. This paper may change that. It has shown increased hearing and quality of life in paediatric cochlear implant (CI) users when the programming has been assisted by...

Identifying CN IX and X using endotracheal tube electrodes

This clinical study describes the possible usefulness of endotracheal tube electrodes in monitoring vocal cord function during cerebellopontine angle surgery in 20 patients. Lower cranial nerves, especially IX and X are at risk of injury during skull base surgery although...

Hearing preservation in CI, any predictors?

The electrically evoked compound action potential (eCAP), obtained non-invasively from cochlear implant (CI) recipients, represents a population response of the auditory nerve to electrical stimulation. The eCAP characteristics include threshold (the lower the better), growth of response (the steeper the...