Evaluation of a new material from an allogenic collagen scaffold as a new coupling option in a round window vibroplasty

Introduction:

Rehabilitation of hearing impaired patients is one of the primary goals of reconstructive middle ear surgery. Active middle ear implants such as the Vibrant Soundbridge, are increasingly being used for this purpose. The most common type of coupling is the round window vibroplasty. The critical point here is the quality and reliability of the coupling. The aim of the project is to evaluate a new coupling material, which is produced in a tissue engineering process and consists of an allogenic collagen scaffold.

Methods:

In six unfixed temporal bones, the FMT of a Vibrant Soundbridge was coupled to the round window for retrograde stimulation of the cochlea in the sense of a round window vibroplasty. The coupling was performed with four different interponates (silicone coupler, collagen scaffold, perichondrium and cartilage). The vibrations generated on the stapedial foot plate were measured and evaluated by Laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV).

Results:

The volume velocities of the collagen scaffold showed comparable results as perichondrium, cartilage and silicone coupler. A statistically significant difference could not be detected between any of the interponates.

Conclusion:

The experiments showed that the collagen scaffolds have similar vibration characteristics as the materials used so far and can therefore be considered as an alternative option for round window vibroplasty in the future.

Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
23. April 2019 (online)