Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Laryngorhinootologie 2022; 101(S 02): S243-S244
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1746802
Poster
Otology / Neurootology / Audiology: Cochlear implant

A method to visualize orientation-independent forces in real-time during cochlear implant electrode array insertion

Authors

  • Viktor Schell

    1   Hannover Medical School, Department of Otolaryngology Hannover

  • Georg Böttcher-Rebmann

    1   Hannover Medical School, Department of Otolaryngology Hannover

  • Leon Budde

    2   Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Mechatronic Systems Hannover

  • M.Geraldine Zuniga

    1   Hannover Medical School, Department of Otolaryngology Hannover

  • Thomas Lenarz

    1   Hannover Medical School, Department of Otolaryngology Hannover

  • ThomasS. Rau

    1   Hannover Medical School, Department of Otolaryngology Hannover
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    Introduction 

    As cochlear implants are increasingly used for patients with residual hearing, atraumatic insertion of the electrode array (EA) is essential. Insertion forces are considered a risk factor for intracochlear trauma, but their evaluation is limited by the surgeon’s abilities of force perception at the fingertips. We recently developed a hand-held tool to enable measurement of insertion forces. Herein, we describe a solution how to process and visualize the measured data to the surgeon in real-time.

    Materials and Methods 

    The insertion tool was designed around a small 1D force sensor and equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) in order to remove an orientation-dependent error from the force signal caused by the weight of the electrode holder, the sensor, and the EA. A custom-made software was developed and implemented to process and visualize measured data. To enable real-time performance, the programming language C+ + was used in combination with the framework Qt.

    Results 

    The developed algorithm fuses the force and IMU signal and calculates a corrected force which is almost fully freed from orientation-dependent errors. The corrected force is visualized as a continuously updated graph over the last 8 seconds. This graph is displayed on an external monitor with a frequency of 50 Hz.

    Conclusion 

    The presented software and hardware will enable intraoperative monitoring of the applied insertion forces during the EA insertion. To provide user-friendly feedback, visualization of the measured forces directly inside the surgeon’s field of view is intended. The visualization with Qt allows cross-platform development and is also suitable for embedded devices.

    German Federal Ministry of Education and Research – Project: OtoTrak, Grant no.: 13GW0367B


     

    Conflict of Interest

    The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

    Publikationsverlauf

    Artikel online veröffentlicht:
    24. Mai 2022

    © 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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