INTRODUCTION: Cochlear implants (CIs) are commonly used for the rehabilitation of profound bilateral hearing loss. However, patients with substantial residual acoustic hearing are potential CI candidates. Because of both improvements in technology and advancements in surgical techniques, it may be possible to preserve hearing to some extent. For more than a decade, it has been suggested that robots are used to perform middle ear surgery. We evaluated the use of the RobOtol® otologic robot specifically to insert CI electrodes into the inner ear. METHODS: CI surgery with the conventional approach was performed under general anesthesia. The MED-El Flex 24-electrode array was inserted using RobOtol®. Video recordings were used to calculate the speed of insertion. The positions of the electrodes were evaluated using a cone beam CT. All subjects underwent pure-tone audiometry tests before and after surgery, and the pure-tone average (PTA) was calculated from 250 to 4,000 Hz. RESULTS: The robot inserted implants in 5 patients, and complete insertion of the electrode array was achieved. The speed of insertion of the electrode array was 0.88 ± 0.12 mm/s. The mean loss of the PTA for 5 frequencies (250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz) was 13.60 ± 7.70 dB. Only 1 patient showed a loss of the PTA by >20 dB. For these 5 patients, the cone beam CT findings showed that all the electrode arrays were in the tympanic ramp and had a grade of 0. The results were compared with those obtained from a cohort of 17 patients who underwent manual implantation of a MED-El Flex 24-electrode array. CONCLUSION: To minimize disturbance to the cochlea while atraumatic electrode arrays are inserted, electrodes can be inserted at a constant, slow speed in the inner ear with the assistance of the RobOtol® robot in a normal clinical surgical setting.
INTRODUCTION: Cochlear implants (CIs) are commonly used for the rehabilitation of profound bilateral hearing loss. However, patients with substantial residual acoustic hearing are potential CI candidates. Because of both improvements in technology and advancements in surgical techniques, it may be possible to preserve hearing to some extent. For more than a decade, it has been suggested that robots are used to perform middle ear surgery. We evaluated the use of the RobOtol® otologic robot specifically to insert CI electrodes into the inner ear. METHODS: CI surgery with the conventional approach was performed under general anesthesia. The MED-El Flex 24-electrode array was inserted using RobOtol®. Video recordings were used to calculate the speed of insertion. The positions of the electrodes were evaluated using a cone beam CT. All subjects underwent pure-tone audiometry tests before and after surgery, and the pure-tone average (PTA) was calculated from 250 to 4,000 Hz. RESULTS: The robot inserted implants in 5 patients, and complete insertion of the electrode array was achieved. The speed of insertion of the electrode array was 0.88 ± 0.12 mm/s. The mean loss of the PTA for 5 frequencies (250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz) was 13.60 ± 7.70 dB. Only 1 patient showed a loss of the PTA by >20 dB. For these 5 patients, the cone beam CT findings showed that all the electrode arrays were in the tympanic ramp and had a grade of 0. The results were compared with those obtained from a cohort of 17 patients who underwent manual implantation of a MED-El Flex 24-electrode array. CONCLUSION: To minimize disturbance to the cochlea while atraumatic electrode arrays are inserted, electrodes can be inserted at a constant, slow speed in the inner ear with the assistance of the RobOtol® robot in a normal clinical surgical setting.
Authors: Cristina Maria Blebea; Laszlo Peter Ujvary; Violeta Necula; Maximilian George Dindelegan; Maria Perde-Schrepler; Mirela Cristina Stamate; Marcel Cosgarea; Alma Aurelia Maniu Journal: Medicina (Kaunas) Date: 2022-05-31 Impact factor: 2.948
Authors: Paul Van de Heyning; Peter Roland; Luis Lassaletta; Sumit Agrawal; Marcus Atlas; Wolf-Dieter Baumgartner; Kevin Brown; Marco Caversaccio; Stefan Dazert; Wolfgang Gstoettner; Rudolf Hagen; Abdulrahman Hagr; Greg Eigner Jablonski; Mohan Kameswaran; Vladislav Kuzovkov; Martin Leinung; Yongxin Li; Andreas Loth; Astrid Magele; Robert Mlynski; Joachim Mueller; Lorne Parnes; Andreas Radeloff; Chris Raine; Gunesh Rajan; Joachim Schmutzhard; Henryk Skarzynski; Piotr H Skarzynski; Georg Sprinzl; Hinrich Staecker; Timo Stöver; Dayse Tavora-Viera; Vedat Topsakal; Shin-Ichi Usami; Vincent Van Rompaey; Nora M Weiss; Wilhelm Wimmer; Mario Zernotti; Javier Gavilan Journal: Front Surg Date: 2022-03-24