Improved imaging of cochlear implant electrodes

Program:

Project area:

R4.4: Improved cochlear implant surgery

Project-ID:

R4.4.2

Project Status:

Ongoing

Background

Precise imaging of the position of cochlear implant electrodes within the cochlea is essential:

to assess the performance of new electrode designs
as a diagnostic tool when implant outcomes are poorer than expected.

Detail

This project aims to develop 3-D imaging of cochlear implant electrodes for both developmental and clinical use.

Currently, the position of cochlear electrodes is evaluated using CT-based modalities, including conventional clinical CT and micro-CT. In the future we plan to use Synchrotron imaging.

Our research effort focuses upon the elimination of imaging artifacts, and the simultaneous visualisation of both the electrode and the soft-tissues of the inner ear.

Project leadership

Prof Stephen O'Leary

Project Team

Jin Xu, Mauro Maiorca, Duncan Stevenson, Allan Jones, Andrew Stevenson, Christopher Wong

Organisations involved

The University of Melbourne

The University of Sydney

Publications from this Project

Title	Authors	Year of Publication
A conventional CT-based method for imaging the intracochlear position of cochlear implant electrodes in the clinic	Maiorca, M, Stevenson AW, O'Leary SJ	2010
Attitudes towards Counselling in Audiological Practice	Summons, R	2010
Comparison of imaging plates and high resolution CCD for x-ray microfocus imaging of cochlear implants	Xu, J, Stevenson AW, Cowan RSC	2009
Cochlear implant outcomes for children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder	Leigh, J, Rance G, Dettman S, Dowell R	2009