Comparison of automated and traditional ECAP recording approaches in clinical practice

Abstract

Objective

The traditional method of recording electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs), as implemented in the MAESTRO clinical software (standard ART), requires manual adjustments during threshold determination through a specialist. The “FineGrain” research tool (FineGrain RT) uses a continuous stimulation paradigm combined with automatic ECAP threshold determination. The aim of this study was to compare the FineGrain RT with standard ART.

Design

ECAPs were recorded with standard ART and the FineGrain RT in paediatric cochlear implant recipients. Different stimulation rates were used for FineGrain ECAP recordings (40, 60, and 76 Hz).

Study sample

Thirteen children (6 − 19 years) participated in this study - nine were bilaterally and four unilaterally implanted, resulting in a total of twenty-two implanted ears.

Results

ECAP threshold determination success rates were similar between the two approaches (92% and 89%) and ECAP thresholds correlated well (r: 0.94, p < 2.2e^–16) with average ART thresholds being lower than FineGrain RT thresholds. FineGrain stimulation with different stimulation rates did not have a significant effect on ECAP thresholds but ECAP thresholds at medial and apical contacts were lower compared to basal contacts.

Conclusions

TheFineGrain research approach is a reliable replacement for standard ART in clinical practice.

Keywords:

• ECAP
• FineGrain
• ART
• cochlear implants
• stimulation rate
• ECAP threshold

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the study participants for their time and effort. Further, we would like to thank Laura Kerr (MED-EL) for language editing a version of this manuscript and the reviewers for helpful suggestion on the manuscript.

Author contributions

P.E., A.S., A.K. and K.S. conceived and designed the study. P.E., A.S. and A.K. collected the data. S.L.A. provided materials and guidance. K.L. performed data analysis. P.E., A.S., K.L., and K.S. wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

P.E. and A.S. declare that they have no competing interests. A.K., K.L., and K.S. are employed by MED-EL Medical Electronics (Innsbruck, Austria).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, P.E.