TY - JOUR
T1 - Restoring the High-Frequency Dynamic Visual Acuity with a Vestibular Implant Prototype in Humans
AU - Starkov, Dmitrii
AU - Guinand, Nils
AU - Lucieer, Florence
AU - Ranieri, Maurizio
AU - Cavuscens, Samuel
AU - Pleshkov, Maksim
AU - Guyot, Jean-Philippe
AU - Kingma, Herman
AU - Ramat, Stefano
AU - Perez-Fornos, Angelica
AU - van de Berg, Raymond
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors have received travel and research grants from MED-EL (Innsbruck, Austria).
Funding Information:
H.K., R.B., and D.S. were supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 17–15–01249).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Introduction: The vestibular implant could become a clinically useful device in the near future. This study investigated the feasibility of restoring the high-frequency dynamic visual acuity (DVA) with a vestibular implant, using the functional Head Impulse Test (fHIT). Methods: A 72-year-old female, with bilateral vestibulopathy and fitted with a modified cochlear implant incorporating three vestibular electrodes (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria), was available for this study. Electrical stimulation was delivered with the electrode close to the lateral ampullary nerve in the left ear. The high-frequency DVA in the horizontal plane was tested with the fHIT. After training, the patient underwent six trials of fHIT, each with a different setting of the vestibular implant: (1) System OFF before stimulation; (2) System ON, baseline stimulation; (3) System ON, reversed stimulation; (4) System ON, positive stimulation; (5) System OFF, without delay after stimulation offset; and (6) System OFF, 25 min delay after stimulation offset. The percentage of correct fHIT scores for right and left head impulses were compared between trials. Results: Vestibular implant stimulation improved the high-frequency DVA compared to no stimulation. This improvement was significant for "System ON, baseline stimulation" (p = 0.02) and "System ON, positive stimulation" (p <0.001). fHIT scores changed from 19 to 44% (no stimulation) to maximum 75-94% (System ON, positive stimulation). Conclusion: The vestibular implant seems capable of improving the high-frequency DVA. This functional benefit of the vestibular implant illustrates again the feasibility of this device for clinical use in the near future.
AB - Introduction: The vestibular implant could become a clinically useful device in the near future. This study investigated the feasibility of restoring the high-frequency dynamic visual acuity (DVA) with a vestibular implant, using the functional Head Impulse Test (fHIT). Methods: A 72-year-old female, with bilateral vestibulopathy and fitted with a modified cochlear implant incorporating three vestibular electrodes (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria), was available for this study. Electrical stimulation was delivered with the electrode close to the lateral ampullary nerve in the left ear. The high-frequency DVA in the horizontal plane was tested with the fHIT. After training, the patient underwent six trials of fHIT, each with a different setting of the vestibular implant: (1) System OFF before stimulation; (2) System ON, baseline stimulation; (3) System ON, reversed stimulation; (4) System ON, positive stimulation; (5) System OFF, without delay after stimulation offset; and (6) System OFF, 25 min delay after stimulation offset. The percentage of correct fHIT scores for right and left head impulses were compared between trials. Results: Vestibular implant stimulation improved the high-frequency DVA compared to no stimulation. This improvement was significant for "System ON, baseline stimulation" (p = 0.02) and "System ON, positive stimulation" (p <0.001). fHIT scores changed from 19 to 44% (no stimulation) to maximum 75-94% (System ON, positive stimulation). Conclusion: The vestibular implant seems capable of improving the high-frequency DVA. This functional benefit of the vestibular implant illustrates again the feasibility of this device for clinical use in the near future.
KW - Vestibular implant
KW - Neural prosthesis
KW - Bilateral vestibulopathy
KW - Functional head impulse test
KW - Dynamic visual acuity
KW - Vestibular prosthesis
KW - STIMULATION
KW - WALKING
U2 - 10.1159/000503677
DO - 10.1159/000503677
M3 - Article
C2 - 31661687
SN - 1420-3030
VL - 25
SP - 91
EP - 95
JO - Audiology and Neurotology
JF - Audiology and Neurotology
IS - 1-2
ER -