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A Proposal of Output Method of Round Window Stimulation Type Middle Ear Implants using Acoustic Transmission

공기 전도형 출력을 갖는 정원창 자극형 인공중이의 출력방식 제안

  • Seong, Kiwoong (Dept. of Biomedical Eng., Kyungpook National University Hospital) ;
  • Lee, KyuYup (Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Kim, Myoung Nam (Dept. of Biomedical Eng., School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Cho, Jin-Ho (Biomedical Engineering Institute, Kyungpook National University)
  • Received : 2018.04.16
  • Accepted : 2018.05.08
  • Published : 2018.06.30

Abstract

In order to broaden the indication of middle ear implant, research has been actively conducted on the reverse output method that stimulates the round window. However, it is very difficult to transmit the vibration output effectively because the indivisual anatomical difference of the round window niche is very large and also the visual field is not secured even by a skilled otolaryngologic surgeon. In this paper, we propose a new reverse stimulation method of middle ear implants that transmits energy to the inner ear by using air as a medium. This can compensate for the disadvantages of the conventional method of transmitting vibration energy and minimizes the energy transfer efficiency interference due to the combination of the excitation point and the output device. It was shown that forward and backward transfer characteristics were obtained by cadaveric experiments, and it was shown that it can overcome the acoustical impedance of high round window and transmit energy to inner ear. The receiver, which is the output device of the conventional hearing aids, can generate a constant volume velocity, so it can have a high output at a limited volume, such as a round window niche. So, suggested method can overcome the high acoustical impedance of the round window and deliver acoustic energy to the inner ear.

Keywords

References

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