Middle Ear Sound Conduction Evaluation Probe
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current middle ear surgery methods rely heavily on the surgeon's experience to identify defective sites and determine appropriate treatments, making it challenging for less experienced doctors to accurately diagnose and treat ossicular mobility issues, which can lead to suboptimal surgical outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A middle ear sound transmission characteristics evaluation system that includes a measuring probe with a force sensor and electrode, which vibrates the ossicles and measures reaction forces and cochlear microphonic potentials, coupled with a database and surgical details proposing unit to provide quantitative evaluations and optimal surgical suggestions based on pre-, intra-, and post-surgical data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional manual palpation method is used to evaluate ossicular mobility, then the surgical procedure is simple and quick, but the measurement precision and reliability depend heavily on surgeon experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical palpation with an automated electromechanical measurement system. The probe includes an actuator that applies controlled vibrational forces to the ossicles and a force sensor that measures the reaction forces, substituting the surgeon's manual tactile assessment with objective mechanical measurement. This resolves the contradiction by providing precise, experience-independent measurements while accepting increased system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement system is designed to be self-contained and automated, with the actuator and force sensor integrated in the probe. The system automatically applies vibrations, measures forces, and calculates mobility parameters without requiring manual operation or interpretation, making the measurement process independent of surgeon experience while maintaining high precision.
2Reliability
If quantitative measurement system is implemented to evaluate sound transmission characteristics, then the diagnosis accuracy and treatment selection improve, but the device complexity and measurement time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic vibrational excitation applied by the actuator at specific frequencies to stimulate the ossicles. By using controlled periodic vibrations rather than continuous or random forces, the system efficiently extracts mobility and sound transmission characteristics through frequency-domain analysis, reducing measurement time while maintaining high diagnostic reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs mechanical vibration as the excitation method, where the actuator applies oscillatory forces to the ossicles. This vibration-based approach allows rapid characterization of ossicular mobility and sound transmission properties through spectral analysis, providing reliable diagnostic data much faster than manual palpation while accepting moderate increases in device complexity.
3Measurement precision
If multiple measurement parameters are collected during surgery, then the surgical decision-making accuracy improves, but the device complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple measurement functions into a single integrated probe. The force sensor measures reaction forces, the actuator applies vibrations, and the system calculates mobility parameters all within one device. This merging approach enables comprehensive diagnostic evaluation (ossicular mobility, sound transmission characteristics) while minimizing the number of separate devices needed, thus reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement probe is designed as a multi-functional device that can perform various measurements: applying vibrational excitation, measuring reaction forces, evaluating ossicular mobility, and assessing sound transmission characteristics. This universal probe replaces multiple specialized devices, providing comprehensive diagnostic capability while actually reducing the total system complexity through consolidation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables quantitative evaluation of ossicular mobility and sound transmission efficiency during surgery, facilitating more precise and effective treatment planning, even for less experienced surgeons, by utilizing past surgical data and numerical simulations to propose optimal surgical details.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator that vibrates the probe
Implementation Method 2
a force sensor that outputs a voltage in accordance with a reaction force exerted to the actuator
Implementation Method 3
an electrode that is installed on a round window or near a round window and detects a potential value of a cochlear microphone when vibration is applied to the ossicles
Data Source
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AI summary
A middle ear sound transmission characteristics evaluation system includes a probe; a measuring probe that includes an actuator that vibrates the probe and a force sensor that outputs a voltage in accordance with a reaction force exerted to the actuator when a tip of the probe is brought into contact with ossicles; an electrode that is installed on a round window or near a round window and detects a potential value of a cochlear microphone when vibration is applied to the ossicles by the probe; a database that stores a sensor voltage value output by the force sensor before surgical treatment, the potential value detected by the electrode, and surgical details; and a surgical details proposing unit that proposes optimum surgical details on the basis of the magnitude of at least one of the sensor voltage value and the potential value measured before surgery with reference to the sensor voltage values, potential values, and surgical details stored in the database.