Abstract
We describe a new implantable hearing-aid output device, a piezoelectric bellows round-window driver (PBRD), which is expected to be unaffected by external magnetic fields. The core elements of the PBRD are a piezoelectric element and a gold-coated copper bellows of low stiffness that transmits piezoelectric displacements, without significant attenuation, to the round window (RW). We analyzed structural and mechanical vibrations when confirming bellows transmission efficiency using a finite element model simulation. The PBRD was bench-tested under no-load conditions to determine its frequency response characteristics. We compared the outputs of the PBRD and a commercial floating-mass transducer in situ in human cadaveric temporal bones with responses measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer. PBRD outputs were excellent at both low (0.1–0.7 kHz) and high (2–16 kHz) frequencies; thus, the PBRD has the potential to compensate for conductive and/or sensorineural hearing loss. The frequency-response performance of the PBRD is better than that of conventional RW drivers (actuators or transducers).
Highlights
Middle-ear implants that transmit vibrations using small transducers have been widely employed to compensate for conductive and/or sensorineural hearing loss [1]–[9]
CADAVERIC EXPERIMENTS To verify the usefulness of the piezoelectric bellows round-window driver (PBRD), we compared its output characteristics to those of an floating-mass transducer (FMT) using human cadaveric sound-driven response of each temporal bones (TBs), sound was presented via a speaker coupled to a speculum inserted into the shortened bony ear canal and the sound pressure near the eardrum was measured with the probe-tube microphone
We here describe a novel transducer for stimulating the round window (RW), the PRBD, which is expected to be unaffected by environmental magnetic fields
Summary
Middle-ear implants that transmit vibrations using small transducers have been widely employed to compensate for conductive and/or sensorineural hearing loss [1]–[9]. Finite-element analysis (FEA) showed that our device using a bellows has superior vibration-transmission efficiency as compared to a version with a flat circular membrane.
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