In this thesis cochlear morphology and the intra-cochlear position of cochlear implant electrode arrays is being studied. Gaining insight in the variance of cochlear morphology allows to study the... Show moreIn this thesis cochlear morphology and the intra-cochlear position of cochlear implant electrode arrays is being studied. Gaining insight in the variance of cochlear morphology allows to study the effect of morphological characteristics on surgical and speech perception outcomes following cochlear implantation. Furthermore, evaluating the intra-cochlear position of cochlear implant electrode arrays contributes to the search for the optimal position of the array in terms of speech perception outcomes. Show less
Objective: By discussing the design, findings, strengths, and weaknesses of available studies investigating the influence of angular insertion depth on speech perception, we intend to summarize the... Show moreObjective: By discussing the design, findings, strengths, and weaknesses of available studies investigating the influence of angular insertion depth on speech perception, we intend to summarize the current status of evidence; and using evidence based conclusions, possibly contribute to the determination of the optimal cochlear implant (CI) electrode position.Data Sources: Our search strategy yielded 10,877 papers. PubMed, Ovid EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to June 1, 2018. Both keywords and free-text terms, related to patient population, predictive factor, and outcome measurements were used. There were no restrictions in languages or year of publication.Study Selection: Seven articles were included in this systematic review. Articles eligible for inclusion: (a) investigated cochlear implantation of any CI system in adults with post-lingual onset of deafness and normal cochlear anatomy; (b) investigated the relationship between angular insertion depth and speech perception; (c) measured angular insertion depth on imaging; and (d) measured speech perception at, or beyond 1-year post-activation.Data Extraction and Synthesis: In included studies; quality was judged low-to-moderate and risk of bias, evaluated using a Quality-in-Prognostic-Studies-tool (QUIPS), was high. Included studies were too heterogeneous to perform meta-analyses, therefore, effect estimates of the individual studies are presented. Six out of seven included studies found no effect of angular insertion depth on speech perception.Conclusion: All included studies are characterized by methodological flaws, and therefore, evidence-based conclusions regarding the influence of angular insertion depth cannot be drawn to date. Show less
Jagt, M.A. van der; Briaire, J.J.; Verbist, B.M.; Frijns, J.H.M. 2016
