This technology is a crown-shaped punch needle that creates precise, circular perforations in thin membranes in order to improve cochlear surgical insertion across the round window membrane.
Accessing the inner ear for cochlear implant surgery requires perforating the round window membrane (RWM), a structure that forms a barrier between the middle ear and the cochlea. Currently available surgical tools include Rosen needles, hypodermic needles, and beaver blades. These large tools create perforations of imprecise shapes and dimensions, potentially leading to surgical complications. There remains a need for a device that creates precise, circular perforations in the RWM in order to improve surgical procedures for the inner ear such as cochlear implant delivery.
This technology employs a crown-shaped punch needle that safely creates circular perforations of precise dimensions through the RWM to facilitate access into the inner ear for cochlear implant delivery. The design minimizes damage and trauma to the cochlea, thereby reducing risk of surgical complications during the procedure.
This technology has been tested in preclinical animal and human tissue samples, as well as clinical trials.
Anil Lalwani, M.D. Jeffrey Kysar, Ph.D.
[Stevens JP, Watanabe H, Kysar JW, Lalwani AK. “Serrated needle design facilitates precise round window membrane perforation” J Biomed Mater Res A. 2016 Jul; 104(7): 1633-7.] (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26914984)
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