Volunteer Clinical Associate Professor UC Irvine Kaiser Permanente Orange County, California Irvine, California, United States
Disclosure(s):
Syed F. Ahsan, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Introduction: The objective is to review the predictive accuracy of Cochlear Corp Smart Nav system in predicting proper electrode position after cochlear implantation.
Methods: This is a retrospective chart review conducted in 2023 on patient who had cochlear implant surgery in a large hospital based practice between 2021-2022. Patients underwent routine cochlear implant surgery with Cochlear Corp CI632 cochlear implant. During implantation , the Smart Nav system was used to determine placement of the electrode array as well and measure impedances and cochlear nerve response. Following each testing, an intraoperative AP x-ray or Modified Stenver X-ray view of the head was performed and used to determine the proper placement of the electrode array within the cochlea. This was compared to the configuration predicted by the Smart Nav.
Results: A total of 15 surgical cases were examined to determine the predictive accuracy of Smart Nav in predicting proper placement. The Smart Nav was 100% accurate in predicting the proper or improper electrode configuration when compared to intraoperative confirmatory X-rays.
Conclusions: This study independently shows that using cochlear Smart Nav during cochlear implantation can reduce the need to use intraoperative X-ray for confirming electrode placement and therefore reduce cost of care, surgical time, and radiation exposure to the patient and possible OR staff.
