Restoring the High-Frequency Dynamic Visual Acuity with a Vestibular Implant Prototype in Humans.

Introduction: The vestibular implant could become a clinically useful device in the near future. This study investigated the feasibility of restoring the high-frequency dynamic visual acuity (DVA) with a vestibular implant, using the functional Head Impulse Test (fHIT). Methods: A 72-year-old female, with bilateral vestibulopathy and fitted with a modified cochlear implant incorporating three vestibular electrodes (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria), was available for this study. Electrical stimulation was delivered with the electrode close to the lateral ampullary nerve in the left ear. The high-fre... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Dmitrii Starkov
Herman Kingma
Florence Lucieer
Stefano Ramat
Nils Guinand
Maksim Pleshkov
Maurizio Ranieri
Samuel Cavuscens
Angelica Perez-Fornos
Raymond van de Berg
Jean-Philippe Guyot
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
Schlagwörter: Netherlands / Speech and Hearing / Sensory Systems / Otorhinolaryngology / Physiology
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26811470
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://www.openaccessrepository.it/record/106395

Introduction: The vestibular implant could become a clinically useful device in the near future. This study investigated the feasibility of restoring the high-frequency dynamic visual acuity (DVA) with a vestibular implant, using the functional Head Impulse Test (fHIT). Methods: A 72-year-old female, with bilateral vestibulopathy and fitted with a modified cochlear implant incorporating three vestibular electrodes (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria), was available for this study. Electrical stimulation was delivered with the electrode close to the lateral ampullary nerve in the left ear. The high-frequency DVA in the horizontal plane was tested with the fHIT. After training, the patient underwent six trials of fHIT, each with a different setting of the vestibular implant: (1) System OFF before stimulation; (2) System ON, baseline stimulation; (3) System ON, reversed stimulation; (4) System ON, positive stimulation; (5) System OFF, without delay after stimulation offset; and (6) System OFF, 25 min delay after stimulation offset. The percentage of correct fHIT scores for right and left head impulses were compared between trials. Results: Vestibular implant stimulation improved the high-frequency DVA compared to no stimulation. This improvement was significant for "System ON, baseline stimulation" ( p = 0.02) and "System ON, positive stimulation" ( p < 0.001). fHIT scores changed from 19 to 44% (no stimulation) to maximum 75–94% (System ON, positive stimulation). Conclusion: The vestibular implant seems capable of improving the high-frequency DVA. This functional benefit of the vestibular implant illustrates again the feasibility of this device for clinical use in the near future.