Characteristics of stapedius muscle electromyograms elicited by cochlear implant stimulation in the rat

The electrical stapedius reflex (ESR) threshold, detected by eardrum acoustic impedance change, is strongly correlated with cochlear implant recipients' behavioral comfort levels. However reports suggest acoustic impedance changes are not detectable in 30-40% of patients. The goals of this stud...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Clement, R.S., Kipke, D.R.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic measurements
Acoustic signal detection
Animals
cochlear implant
Cochlear implants
Electrodes
Impedance
Muscles
objective fitting
Paramagnetic resonance
stapedius
Tungsten
Wire
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Summary:The electrical stapedius reflex (ESR) threshold, detected by eardrum acoustic impedance change, is strongly correlated with cochlear implant recipients' behavioral comfort levels. However reports suggest acoustic impedance changes are not detectable in 30-40% of patients. The goals of this study were to develop an animal model and investigate the characteristics of the stapedius muscle electromyogram (SEMG) elicited by a cochlear implant, as an alternative measure of ESR activation. Bipolar tungsten micro wire electrodes recorded the SEMG signal from the stapedius muscle of 6 rats. The cochlea was implanted with a multichannel intracochlear electrode that delivered biphasic electrical pulses. Maximum SEMG potentials were 20-500 /spl mu/V (mean: 174 /spl mu/V) or 8-42 dB SNR (mean: 24 dB). The dynamic range of the responses that reached saturation were approximately 10 dB, with threshold inversely dependent on pulse-width and electrode separation. The electrical brainstem response (EABR) threshold was 5.6 dB lower than the ESR threshold on average, but the standard deviation was relatively high (2.4 dB), suggesting that these two signals could provide independent information for objective cochlear implant fitting. Post-operative SEMGs were recorded in several animals; including one animal for up to 63 days. The results suggest the overall feasibility of the approach for objective cochlear implant fitting.
DOI:10.1109/IEMBS.2004.1404177