New chamber stapes prosthesis - A preliminary assessment of the functioning of the prototype

PLoS One. 2017 May 23;12(5):e0178133. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178133. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Piston-stapedotomy is the most common method for hearing restoration in patients with otosclerosis. In this study, we have experimentally examined a prototype of a new chamber stapes prosthesis. The prototype was implanted in a human cadaver temporal bone. The round window vibrations before and after implantation were measured for the acoustic signal (90 dB SPL, 0.8-8 kHz) in the external auditory canal. In comparison with a 0.4-mm piston prosthesis, the chamber prosthesis induced significantly higher vibration of the round window, especially for frequencies above 1.5 kHz. Based on the results, it can be surmised that stapedotomy with a chamber stapes prosthesis could provide better hearing results in comparison with the piston-stapedotomy.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Cadaver
  • Equipment Design
  • Humans
  • Lactones
  • Ossicular Prosthesis*
  • Otosclerosis / physiopathology
  • Otosclerosis / surgery
  • Round Window, Ear / physiopathology
  • Round Window, Ear / surgery
  • Stapes Surgery / instrumentation
  • Stapes Surgery / methods
  • Temporal Bone / physiopathology
  • Temporal Bone / surgery

Substances

  • Lactones
  • vibralactone

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development (Research Project No. 266457/NCBR/2015). There was no additional external funding received for this study.