Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants
The gold standard for the partial restoration of sensorineural hearing loss is cochlear implant surgery, which restores patients’ speech comprehension. The remaining limitations, e.g., music perception, are partly due to a gap between cochlear implant electrodes and the auditory nerve cells in the m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/9/1766 |
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| author | Suheda Yilmaz-Bayraktar Katharina Foremny Michaela Kreienmeyer Athanasia Warnecke Theodor Doll |
| author_facet | Suheda Yilmaz-Bayraktar Katharina Foremny Michaela Kreienmeyer Athanasia Warnecke Theodor Doll |
| author_sort | Suheda Yilmaz-Bayraktar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The gold standard for the partial restoration of sensorineural hearing loss is cochlear implant surgery, which restores patients’ speech comprehension. The remaining limitations, e.g., music perception, are partly due to a gap between cochlear implant electrodes and the auditory nerve cells in the modiolus of the inner ear. Reducing this gap will most likely lead to improved cochlear implant performance. To achieve this, a bending or curling mechanism in the electrode array is discussed. We propose a silicone rubber–hydrogel actuator where the hydrogel forms a percolating network in the dorsal silicone rubber compartment of the electrode array to exert bending forces at low volume swelling ratios. A material study of suitable polymers (medical-grade PDMS and hydrogels), including parametrized bending curvature measurements, is presented. The curvature radii measured meet the anatomical needs for positioning electrodes very closely to the modiolus. Besides stage-one biocompatibility according to ISO 10993-5, we also developed and validated a simplified mathematical model for designing hydrogel-actuated CI with modiolar hugging functionality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:46:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4147ee60aa65440cb1daa0c01f3071c3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:46:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-4147ee60aa65440cb1daa0c01f3071c32023-11-23T09:05:56ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-04-01149176610.3390/polym14091766Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear ImplantsSuheda Yilmaz-Bayraktar0Katharina Foremny1Michaela Kreienmeyer2Athanasia Warnecke3Theodor Doll4Department of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, GermanyDepartment of Otolaryngology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, GermanyThe gold standard for the partial restoration of sensorineural hearing loss is cochlear implant surgery, which restores patients’ speech comprehension. The remaining limitations, e.g., music perception, are partly due to a gap between cochlear implant electrodes and the auditory nerve cells in the modiolus of the inner ear. Reducing this gap will most likely lead to improved cochlear implant performance. To achieve this, a bending or curling mechanism in the electrode array is discussed. We propose a silicone rubber–hydrogel actuator where the hydrogel forms a percolating network in the dorsal silicone rubber compartment of the electrode array to exert bending forces at low volume swelling ratios. A material study of suitable polymers (medical-grade PDMS and hydrogels), including parametrized bending curvature measurements, is presented. The curvature radii measured meet the anatomical needs for positioning electrodes very closely to the modiolus. Besides stage-one biocompatibility according to ISO 10993-5, we also developed and validated a simplified mathematical model for designing hydrogel-actuated CI with modiolar hugging functionality.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/9/1766sensorineural hearing losscochlear implantsself-bending electrode arrayssilicone rubber–hydrogel compositesactuatorsswelling behavior |
| spellingShingle | Suheda Yilmaz-Bayraktar Katharina Foremny Michaela Kreienmeyer Athanasia Warnecke Theodor Doll Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants Polymers sensorineural hearing loss cochlear implants self-bending electrode arrays silicone rubber–hydrogel composites actuators swelling behavior |
| title | Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants |
| title_full | Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants |
| title_fullStr | Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants |
| title_short | Medical-Grade Silicone Rubber–Hydrogel-Composites for Modiolar Hugging Cochlear Implants |
| title_sort | medical grade silicone rubber hydrogel composites for modiolar hugging cochlear implants |
| topic | sensorineural hearing loss cochlear implants self-bending electrode arrays silicone rubber–hydrogel composites actuators swelling behavior |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/9/1766 |
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