Noise Exposure on Human Cochlea During Cochleostomy Formation Using Conventional and a Hand Guided Robotic Drill.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the disturbance induced in the cochlea during cochleostomy using conventional drill and a hand guided robotic drill.

STUDY

DESIGN

The study is based on experimental measurements using the Laser Doppler Vibrometer during the drilling processes converted to Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) for comparison.

SETTING

The study is based on experimental results of three sets of cochleostomies on human cadaver heads.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Robotic drilling, in comparison to the conventional drilling method, creates a consistently lower level of disturbance in cochlea across the hearing frequency range.

RESULTS

Robotic drilling, in comparison to the conventional drilling method, creates a consistently lower level of disturbance in cochlea across the hearing frequency range.

CONCLUSIONS

It is reasonable to conclude that robotic drilling has a lower possibility of creating acoustic trauma in cochlea that endangers the residual hearing of patients.