Effect of stimulation sites on the performance of electromagnetic middle ear implant: A finite element analysis

Houguang Liu; Wenbo Wang; Yu Zhao; Jianhua Yang; Shanguo Yang; Xinsheng Huang; Wen Liu

doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103918

Effect of stimulation sites on the performance of electromagnetic middle ear implant: A finite element analysis

Comput Biol Med. 2020 Sep:124:103918. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103918. Epub 2020 Jul 22.

Authors

Houguang Liu¹, Wenbo Wang², Yu Zhao¹, Jianhua Yang¹, Shanguo Yang¹, Xinsheng Huang³, Wen Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechatronic Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China.
² School of Mechatronic Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China. Electronic address: wangwenbo@cumt.edu.cn.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221002, China.

PMID: 32758680
DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103918

Abstract

Electromagnetic middle ear implants (MEIs), which use the mechanical vibration of their implanted transducers to treat hearing loss, have emerged to overcome the limitations of conventional hearing aids. Several reports have indicated that the electromagnetic MEI's performance changed with different stimulation sites of the transducer. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of the transducers' stimulation sites on the electromagnetic MEIs' performance. To aid this investigation, a human ear finite-element model was developed from micro-CT images of an adult's right ear. The validity of the model was confirmed by comparing the model-derived results with experimental data. Then, stimulation forces, which simulate ideal electromagnetic transducers, were respectively applied at five typical coupling sites: the umbo, incus body, incus long process, the round window, and the stapes. The stimulation sites' influence on the electromagnetic MEI's performance was studied by analyzing their corresponding basilar membrane displacements. The results show that stimulation of the round window with a force produces more cochlear stimulation than equal force stimulation of the umbo, incus body, incus long process and the stapes, though the superiority of the round window depends on its smaller area compared to the stapes footplate. Among the forward stimulation, the stapes is the optimal stimulation site for the electromagnetic transducer regarding its hearing compensation's efficiency. The performance of the umbo stimulation is comparable to that of the incus-long-process stimulation. Driving the incus body is less efficient than stimulating the other forward driving sites. Additional, using the stapes response to evaluate the forward stimulation gives results similar to those deduced by the basilar membrane response; in contrast, for the round-window stimulation, the evaluation result based on the stapes response is prominently less than the one calculated by the basilar membrane response, especially in the mid-high frequency range.

Keywords: Electromagnetic transducer; Finite element analysis; Hearing compensation; Middle ear implant; Stimulation sites.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Electromagnetic Phenomena
Finite Element Analysis*
Humans
Ossicular Prosthesis*
Round Window, Ear / diagnostic imaging
Stapes
Transducers
Vibration