Prevention of electrical costimulation by triphasic pulses in cochlear implants

人工耳蜗是目前最成功的神经假体，能在很大程度上恢复耳聋患者的听力。但是，当听觉神经受到电刺激时，会出现令人不快的副作用：耳蜗外的电场可能会刺激部分面神经。刺激通常导致眼睛和/或嘴周围的抽搐。最近，发现应用某种类型的脉冲形状经常导致共刺激的预防（Schatzer 2014，Bahmer & Baumann 2016）。这种类型的脉冲（三相脉冲）由三个连续的相位组成，这三个相位的总和固有地抵消了它们的电荷。先前的测量表明，三相刺激后的神经元反应弱于双相刺激。详细的机制仍不清楚。揭示潜在的机制是该项目的一部分。另一种可能的刺激模式是应用精确三相脉冲（“pt脉冲”）。到目前为止，测量和临床经验与pt脉冲仍然失踪。这将是该项目的另一部分。

Cochlear implants are the most successful neuroprostheses which can restore the hearing abilibities of deaf patients to a great extent. But unpleasant side effects can arise when the auditory nerve is electrically stimulated: the electrical field outside of the cochlea may stimulate parts of the facial nerve. The stimulation results typically in a twitching around the eye and/or the mouth. Recently, it was found that the application of a certain type of pulse shape frequently results in the prevention of the costimulation (Schatzer 2014, Bahmer & Baumann 2016). This type of pulse (triphasic pulses) consists of three consecutive phases which in sum cancel inherently their charge. Previous measurements demonstrated that the neuronal response after triphasic stimulation is weaker than with biphasic stimulation. The detailed mechanism remains still unclear. To uncover the underlying mechanism is part of the project. Another possible stimulation mode is the application of precision triphasic pulses ("pt-pulses"). Up to now measurement and clinical experiences with pt-pulses are still missing. This will be another part of the project.