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76th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

04.05. - 08.05.2005, Erfurt

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Quantitative evaluation of a substance distribution inside a cochlear model using different electrode prototypes for drug delivery

Meeting Abstract

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  • corresponding author Lars Bögel - Med. University of Hannover, Hannover
  • Timo Stöver - Med. University of Hannover, Hannover
  • Gerrit Paasche - Med. University of Hannover, Hannover
  • Martin Leinung - Med. University of Hannover, Hannover
  • Thomas Lenarz - Med. University of Hannover, Hannover

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. 76. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie e.V.. Erfurt, 04.-08.05.2005. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2005. Doc05hno554

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/hno2005/05hno012.shtml

Published: September 22, 2005

© 2005 Bögel et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Animal experiments have proved the possibility of a local drug delivery into the cochlea. To develop a drug delivery system for human cochleae it is most likely to modify standard cochlear implant electrodes. For validation of prototypes of cochlear implant electrodes for drug delivery, a system for objective evaluation of these prototypes and the resulting substance distribution is necessary.

In the course of our investigation, three prototypes of a cochlear implant electrode with openings for drug delivery were investigated in a model cochlea. These prototypes had outlets either at the tip or at the side of the array, or a combination of both openings. An evaluation system based on image series was established. This enabled the investigation of substance distribution over time along the entire cochlea model.

Pump rates of 1, 10, and 100 µl/h were applied to the different prototypes. The distribution of the substance is most evenly along the electrode array when using both outlets. Having only an outlet at the side of the array is always less efficient compared to just one opening at the tip. The developed evaluation system allows not only to examine the substance distribution in the cochlea, but also to investigate the efficiency of multiple outlets. The quantitative evaluation of the drug delivery system might therefore be a significant contribution to the development of an effective device for local drug delivery to the inner ear.