Kaulitz Stefan, Köstler Carolina, Rak Kristen, Hagen Rudolf, Hackenberg Stephan, Cebulla Mario
Klinik und Poliklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
HNO Groß und Klein, Praxis Dr. med. Stefan Kaulitz, Friedrich-Stein-Straße 9, 97421, Schweinfurt, Germany.
HNO. 2025 Jun 3. doi: 10.1007/s00106-025-01597-1.
This study investigates the inverse use of the Vibrant Soundbridge® Floating Mass Transducer (FMT; MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria) as a microphone in a pilot test. Should this be applicable, it would open up interesting application possibilities, e.g., as a microphone for a fully implantable cochlear implant.
Experimental measurements on an ear canal-eardrum model were used to analyze the acoustic properties of the FMT when used as a microphone, including frequency response and sensitivity. The FMT from the Direct Drive Simulation Set was coupled to the artificial eardrum for this purpose.
The results show that the FMT has a usable signal-to-noise performance over the entire frequency range investigated, albeit with a non-linear frequency characteristic. The highest sensitivity was found between 1500 and 2000 Hz.
The study suggests that an FMT optimized for microphone properties could be used as a microphone in the middle ear, which would open up new possibilities for the development of fully implantable hearing systems. Further investigations, in particular measurements on the petrous bone, are required to determine the suitability of the FMT as a middle ear microphone more precisely.
本研究在一项先导试验中探究了将振动声桥®浮动质量传感器（FMT；奥地利因斯布鲁克美迪乐公司）反向用作麦克风的情况。若该方法可行，将开启有趣的应用可能性，例如用作全植入式人工耳蜗的麦克风。
在耳道 - 鼓膜模型上进行实验测量，以分析FMT用作麦克风时的声学特性，包括频率响应和灵敏度。为此，将直接驱动模拟套件中的FMT与人工鼓膜耦合。
结果表明，尽管FMT具有非线性频率特性，但在整个研究频率范围内具有可用的信噪性能。在1500至2000赫兹之间发现了最高灵敏度。
该研究表明，针对麦克风特性优化的FMT可在中耳用作麦克风，这将为全植入式听力系统的开发开辟新的可能性。需要进一步研究，特别是在颞骨上进行测量，以更精确地确定FMT作为中耳麦克风的适用性。
