Launch of a new multicenter clinical study

For patients with severe hearing loss who can no longer be satisfactorily treated with conventional hearing aids, a cochlear implant (CI) can be implanted as part of surgery. At our clinic, the associated treatment process has been successfully managed for more than 30 years by the team of the Saxon Cochlear Implant Center.

The core of CI surgery is the insertion of the electrode array into the cochlea. The electrode array enables direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve, bypassing the diseased parts of the inner ear that normally transmit sound to the auditory nerve. Until now, insertion has been performed manually. Since April 2025, the clinic has had access to the OTOARM/OTODRIVE system from MED-EL (Innsbruck, Austria), a CE-approved surgical assistance system that supports electrode insertion. Using the system, the electrode array is inserted continuously, tremor-free, and at a very slow speed along a trajectory that has been predefined by the experienced otologic surgeons. The implanting surgeons initiate the insertion by pressing a foot pedal and monitor the process under the surgical microscope. Compared to manual insertion, the system allows for a significantly less traumatic procedure, thereby preserving the delicate structures within the cochlea as effectively as possible.

“We expect that the use of this system will improve postoperative outcomes. In particular, patients who still have residual hearing prior to surgery—which after surgery can be further amplified with a hearing aid in addition to the CI (electric-acoustic stimulation)—should benefit from the less traumatic insertion compared to manual techniques. Furthermore, we hope to reduce the incidence of the common postoperative complication of vertigo through the use of the system. This should benefit all patients implanted with the system,” says Professor Thomas Zahnert, head of the department, about the use of the system in the operating room.

Whether the system can meet these high expectations will be investigated starting in September 2025 as part of a multicenter study, led by Dr. Müller, Head of the Early Career Research Group “Surgical Assistance Systems.” The study is scheduled for completion in 2028. Patients receiving a cochlear implant at our clinic who are interested in participating in the study are warmly invited to contact the medical team of the Saxon Cochlear Implant Center during their preoperative consultations.