Measurement of the cochlea – examiner’s influence

Introduction Cochlear implants provide effective auditory rehabilitation for patients with deafness or severe hearing loss. Many aspects such as duration of deafness, respective hearing loss, individual anatomy must be considered preoperatively in order to select an optimal electrode and insertion depth for the patient. An important point for optimal electrode selection is the length of the cochlea.

Material and Methods Fine-tuned preparations and high- and low-resolution CT datasets from a total of 5 subjects were available from the OpenEar Library. These were measured by 4 different examiners using the OsiriXMD program along the lateral wall, starting at the round window up to the helicotrema.

Discussion Deviations were found in all modalities between the individual examiners with regard to total height and radius. The largest deviations were found in the area of ​​the round window. With higher imaging resolution (0.125 mm), the error decreased compared to the reference. From our point of view, an automated process would be helpful.

MED-EL

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023