A comparative study of MED-EL FMT attachment to the long process of the incus in intact middle ears and its attachment to disarticulated stapes head.

A comparative study of MED-EL FMT attachment to the long process of the incus in intact middle ears and its attachment to disarticulated stapes head.
Hear Res. 2017 Jun 23;:
Authors: Chen T, Ren LJ, Yin DM, Li J, Yang L, Dai PD, Zhang TY
Abstract
The Vibrant Soundbridge(©) (VSB) active middle-ear implant provides an effective treatment for mild-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss in the case of normal middle ear anatomy and mixed hearing loss in middle ear malformation. The VSB floating mass transducer (FMT), with proper couplers, can be installed on various structures of the ossicular chain, e.g., the short and long process of the incus, the stapes head, and the stapes footplate. A long process (LP) coupler is most commonly used for FMT attachment to the long process of the incus with intact ossicular chain, while CliP and Bell couplers are two standardized and reliable methods for FMT attachment to the stapes head with missing incus and malleus. However, the difference and relationship of the vibration properties among these three FMT couplers remain unclear. In the present study, the stapes footplate velocity responses of the LP, CliP, and Bell couplers have been investigated in eight fresh temporal bones (TBs) to evaluate the vibration properties of these three couplers. Normal and reconstructed middle ear transfer functions (METFs) were determined from laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) measurements. A mastoidectomy and a posterio...

Source: Hearing Research - June 23, 2017 Category: Audiology Authors: Chen T, Ren LJ, Yin DM, Li J, Yang L, Dai PD, Zhang TY Tags: Hear Res Source Type: research