Development of therapeutic devices to restore normal biomechanics of hearing

开发恢复正常听力生物力学的治疗装置

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-05522
• 负责人: Maftoon, Nima
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=765914
• 关键词: Development; therapeutic; devices; restore; normal; Development; therapeutic; devices; restore; normal

Over 466 million people (6.1% of the world population) have disabling hearing loss, and it is estimated that by 2050 this number will grow to 900 million (9.6% of the world population). One-third of people over 65 have disabling hearing loss; over one million Canadians have hearing-related disability, and 8% of Canadian children (6 to 19 years) have at least slight hearing loss. Many hearing pathologies including all types of conductive hearing loss adversely affect the normal biomechanics of hearing and therefore understanding the biomechanics of hearing is the key for developing effective devices for diagnosis and therapy.       In the next five years, the objective of this program is to obtain better fundamental understandings of hearing mechanics, to enable developments of new and effective therapeutic devices for otitis media (the accumulation of liquid or acute inflammation in the middle ear). Otitis media is the second most prevalent cause of hearing loss and affects 1.23 billion people worldwide. It especially affects Canada as its prevalence rate among Inuit, First Nations and Métis children in some Northern Canada communities is as high as 40 times that of US and Canadian cities. The current treatment procedure for otitis media is tympanostomy: the surgical placement of a ventilation tube in the tympanic membrane (TM). Tympanostomy is the most common surgery performed on children in Canada, but it has drawbacks such as need for general anesthesia, economic burden and long-term damage to the TM.       To enable the development of novel microneedle-patch devices, that avoid major drawbacks of tympanostomy, the proposed research will generate new fundamental understandings about the behaviour of the TM in rupture and impact. This program will also deal with scientific challenges for inventing new microfabrication methods for these devices and their interactions with the TM.       There are currently no quantitative models for the puncture of the TM, large nonlinear deformations of the middle-ear structures during this puncture or contact/impact mechanics of the TM. In this program, these models will be created using the finite-element method and they will be used to make discoveries about interactions of microneedles with the TM. We will validate these models using the data that we will measure in cadaveric human ears employing innovative techniques such as optical coherence tomography. We will perform modelling and experimental studies to investigate the effects of wearing such devices on hearing in terms of the changes in the middle-ear vibrations.       This technology will make it possible to treat otitis media during a medical office visit, offering timely, accessible treatment for all Canadian children, including those in Northern communities. The proposed research on innovative therapeutic devices will bring new opportunities for the Canadian medical-device industry and economy.

超过4.66亿人（占全球6.1％的人口）丧失了听力损失，据估计，到2050年，这一数字将增长到9亿（占世界人口的9.6％）。三分之一的人中有65人致力于听力损失；超过100万加拿大人患有听力相关的残疾，其中8％的加拿大儿童（6至19岁）至少有听力损失略有损失。许多听力病理包括所有类型的导电性听力损失会对听力的正常生物力学产生不利影响，因此了解听力的生物力学是开发有效诊断和治疗设备的关键。在接下来的五年中，该计划的目的是获得对听力力学的更好的基本理解，以开发新的有效的耳炎培养基治疗装置（中耳中液体或急性炎症的积累）。中耳炎是第二大流行的听力损失原因，并影响了全球12.3亿人。它尤其影响加拿大，因为加拿大一些北部社区的因纽特人，原住民和梅蒂斯儿童的盛行率是我们和加拿大城市的40倍。中耳炎的当前治疗方法是鼓膜造口术：在鼓膜膜（TM）中通风管的手术放置。鼓膜切开术是对加拿大儿童进行的最常见的手术，但它的缺点，例如需要全身麻醉，经济伯恩（Burnen）和对TM的长期损害。为了使新型的微对准设备的开发避免了鼓膜造口术的主要缺点，拟议的研究将对TM破裂和影响的行为产生新的基本理解。该计划还将应对为这些设备发明新的微加工方法及其与TM的相互作用的科学挑战。目前尚无定量模型用于穿刺TM，在这种穿刺或TM的接触/冲击机制中，中毛结构的大型非线性变形。在此程序中，将使用有限元方法创建这些模型，并将它们用于发现微针与TM的相互作用。我们将使用我们将使用创新技术（例如光学相干断层扫描）中测量的数据来验证这些模型。我们将进行建模和实验研究，以研究佩戴此类设备对中耳振动的变化的影响。这项技术将使在医疗办公室访问期间治疗中耳炎，为所有加拿大儿童（包括北部社区的儿童）提供及时，可访问的治疗。拟议的有关创新治疗设备的研究将为加拿大医疗设备行业和经济带来新的机会。