I-Corps: Analyzing the cochlear implant programming market and assessing the need for image guided cochlear implant programming

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力包括：1)改善整个人工耳蜗（CI）规划过程；2)能够评估已被证明会影响听力结果的人工耳蜗电极阵列放置；3)通过提供患者特定目标和定量信息，减少人工耳蜗规划中的主观性。4)通过使CI用户更好地了解影响其结果的因素，创建以患者为中心的流程。根据几家CI公司的最新报告，约有3700万人可以从CI中受益；据估计，每年仅新生儿中的候选人数就在15万人左右。这项技术不仅可以个性化和改善听力结果，而且还可以通过使好处更加明显和减少编程负担来增加市场渗透率，从而使更多的人能够利用CI技术。此外，听力结果的整体改善将减少听力差的老年人面临的孤立。这个I-Corps项目利用尖端的图像处理算法来定位关键的内耳结构以及人工耳蜗（CI）电极。由此产生的信息可以用来估计听觉神经刺激模式，然后用于帮助指导CI编程，其目标是确定一组令人满意的设置，从而导致更好的听力结果。目前，规划过程更多的是一种主观练习，而不是基于定量和客观测量的针对患者的程序。对200多名参与的CI接受者进行的临床研究表明，使用这项技术对CI进行编程后，在嘈杂和安静环境下的语音辨别和识别方面都取得了显著改善。此外，超过70%的参与者决定保留他们的新地图。该项目将有助于1)更好地了解当前人工耳蜗市场的特征和特点，包括资格、手术和编程；2)考虑克服现状和改变当前听力学过程的挑战；3)确定商业上可行的商业模式，以改善人工耳蜗用户的编程过程和听力结果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project addresses 1) improving the overall cochlear implant (CI) programming process, 2) enabling the assessment of the CI electrode array placement which has been shown to affect hearing outcomes, 3) reducing the subjectivity in CI programming by providing patient-specific objectives and quantitative information, and 4) creating a patient focused procedure by enabling CI users to have a better understanding of factors that affect their outcomes. According to the latest reports from several CI companies, around 37 million could benefit from a CI; the number of candidates among newborns each year alone is estimated around 150,000. This technology will not only individualize and enhance hearing outcomes but it will also increase market penetration, by making the benefits more apparent and programming less of a burden, thereby allowing more people to take advantage of the CI technology. Additionally, overall improved hearing outcomes will reduce isolation faced by older adults with poor hearing outcomes.This I-Corps project utilizes cutting-edge image processing algorithms that localize crucial inner ear structures as well as cochlear implant (CI) electrodes. The resulting information enables estimation of auditory nerve stimulation patterns which are then used to help guide CI programming where the goal is to determine a set of satisfactory settings that will lead to better hearing outcomes. Currently, the programming process is more of a subjective exercise than a patient-specific procedure that is based on quantitative and objective measurements. Clinical studies conducted with over 200 participating CI recipients have showed that significant improvements in speech discrimination as well as recognition in both noisy and quiet environments were achieved when CIs were programmed using this technology. In addition, over 70% of those participants decided to keep their new mapping. This project will help 1) better understand the features and characteristics of the current cochlear implant market including eligibility, surgery and programming, 2) consider the challenges in overcoming the status quo and changing the current audiological process, and 3) determine a commercially viable business model that will improve both the programming process and the hearing outcomes for CI users.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.