Limiting Temperature Rise in Cochlear Implantation Bone Drilling: A Novel Approach

IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2024 Apr;71(4):1104-1114. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2023.3327277. Epub 2024 Mar 20.

Abstract

Objective: In the process of cochlear implantation surgery, it is crucial to develop a method to control the temperature during the drilling of the implant channel since high temperatures can result in damage to bone and nerve tissue.

Methods: This paper simplified the traditional point heat source temperature rise model and proposed a novel extreme peck drilling model to quantitatively calculate the maximum temperature rise value. It is also innovatively introduced a new method for calculating the best peck drilling duty cycle to strictly control the maximum temperature rise value. Besides, the neural network is trained with virtual data to identify two important thermal parameters in the temperature rise model.

Results: In the experiment of epoxy resin and temporal bone, the difference between predicted maximum temperature and actual maximum temperature was less than 1.5 °C, and the error rate was less than 10%. And the error source was analyzed by variational mode decomposition, along with discussion of potential solutions. In the temperature control experiment, the model successfully controlled the maximum temperature rise within 10 °C.For cochlear implantation surgery, we also divide the implantation channel into different stages based on the bone density in CT images to identify thermal parameters and calculate drilling strategies.

Conclusion: This method provides a new strategy for accurate and effective control of borehole heat generation.

Significance: These achievements provide new ideas and directions for research in cochlear implantation surgery and related fields, and are expected to have extensive application in medical practice.

MeSH terms

  • Bone and Bones
  • Cochlear Implantation* / methods
  • Hot Temperature
  • Temperature