A mystery solved: human high-frequency middle-ear motion.

The middle ear transforms sound from low-impedance external air to high-impedance cochlear fluid. However, the human stapes - the input to the cochlea - has been reported to have minimal or no motion above ~ 4 kHz. For decades, this lack of observed high-frequency stapes motion has been puzzling, as it is inconsistent with our ability to hear up to 20 kHz.

The UmboMic: A PVDF Cantilever Microphone.

Objective: We present the "UmboMic," a prototype piezoelectric cantilever microphone designed for future use with totally-implantable cochlear implants.

Methods: The UmboMic sensor is made from polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) because of its low Young's modulus and biocompatibility. The sensor is designed to fit in the middle ear and measure the motion of the underside of the eardrum at the umbo.

An Implantable Piezofilm Middle Ear Microphone: Performance in Human Cadaveric Temporal Bones.

Purpose: One of the major reasons that totally implantable cochlear microphones are not readily available is the lack of good implantable microphones. An implantable microphone has the potential to provide a range of benefits over external microphones for cochlear implant users including the filtering ability of the outer ear, cosmetics, and usability in all situations. This paper presents results from experiments in human cadaveric ears of a piezofilm microphone concept under development as a possible component of a future implantable microphone system for use with cochlear implants.

The UmboMic: A PVDF Cantilever Microphone.

Objective: We present the "UmboMic," a prototype piezoelectric cantilever microphone designed for future use with totally-implantable cochlear implants.

Methods: The UmboMic sensor is made from polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) because of its low Young's modulus and biocompatibility. The sensor is designed to fit in the middle ear and measure the motion of the underside of the eardrum at the umbo.

Middle Fossa Decompression for Recurrent Facial Palsy: Prevalence and Surgical Outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the surgical outcomes in patients treated for recurrent facial nerve palsy (RFP) at a quaternary facial nerve referral center.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on 132 patients with RFP who presented to our institution's facial nerve clinic from 2001 to 2021. Records were analyzed for etiology of palsy, facial nerve function, and recurrence rates.

Voluntary Field Recall of Advanced Bionics HiRes Cochlear Implants: A Single-Institution Experience.

Objectives: In 2020, Advanced Bionics (AB) announced a recall of two cochlear implant (CI) models, the "HiRes Ultra" and "HiRes Ultra 3D", because of reports of hearing degradation. The present study examines clinical parameters and patient features in cases of device failure and evaluates outcomes after reimplantation.

Materials And Methods: A series of 52 patients implanted with the recalled devices experienced suspected device failure and subsequently underwent revision CI placement at a tertiary academic medical center between December 2019 and November 2021.

Feeding Tube Placement Following Transoral Robotic Surgery for Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Objective: To identify factors that may predict the need for feeding tubes in patients undergoing transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in the perioperative setting.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic tertiary center.

Impact of surgical margins on local control in patients undergoing single-modality transoral robotic surgery for HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The impact of close surgical margins on oncologic outcomes in HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV + OPSCC) is unclear.

Methods: Retrospective case series including patients undergoing single modality transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for HPV + OPSCC at three academic medical centers from 2010 to 2019. Outcomes were compared between patients with close surgical margins (<1 mm or requiring re-resection) and clear margins using the Kaplan-Meier method.

An Implantable Umbo Microphone For Fully-Implantable Assistive Hearing Devices.

This paper presents an implantable microphone for sensing the displacement of the umbo, the end of the malleus where it attaches to the center tip of the cone-shaped tympanic membrane. The sensor comprises a piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film with copper-nickel electrodes suspended across a brass cylinder. The cylinder is oriented so that the umbo pushes on the film center, causing a static and acoustically-driven dynamic film displacement.

Optimal timing of endoscopic sinus surgery for odontogenic sinusitis.

Objectives: Odontogenic sinusitis (ODS) is more common than historically reported, and management recommendations are limited in the literature. Although ODS case series have shown successful outcomes with dental treatment and endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS), no studies have considered the optimal timing of these treatments. The purpose of this study was to analyze times to ODS resolution after primary dental treatment and ESS based on symptom, 22-item sinonasal outcome test (SNOT-22), and endoscopic outcomes.

Using Radiolabeled 3'-Deoxy-3'-F-Fluorothymidine with PET to Monitor the Effect of Dexamethasone on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States, and pemetrexed-based therapies are regularly used to treat nonsquamous NSCLC. Despite widespread use, pemetrexed has a modest effect on progression-free survival, with varying efficacy between individuals. Recent work has indicated that dexamethasone, given to prevent pemetrexed toxicity, is able to protect a subset of NSCLC cells from pemetrexed cytotoxicity by temporarily suppressing the S phase of the cell cycle.

Effects of capecitabine treatment on the uptake of thymidine analogs using exploratory PET imaging agents: F-FAU, F-FMAU, and F-FLT.

Background: A principal goal for the use of positron emission tomography (PET) in oncology is for real-time evaluation of tumor response to chemotherapy. Given that many contemporary anti-neoplastic agents function by impairing cellular proliferation, it is of interest to develop imaging modalities to monitor these pathways. Here we examined the effect of capecitabine on the uptake of thymidine analogs used with PET: 3'-deoxy-3'-[F]fluorothymidine (F-FLT), 1-(2'-deoxy-2'-[F]fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl) thymidine (F-FMAU), and 1-(2'-deoxy-2'-[F]fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl) uracil (F-FAU) in patients with advanced cancer.

Integrating Dynamic Positron Emission Tomography and Conventional Pharmacokinetic Studies to Delineate Plasma and Tumor Pharmacokinetics of FAU, a Prodrug Bioactivated by Thymidylate Synthase.

FAU, a pyrimidine nucleotide analogue, is a prodrug bioactivated by intracellular thymidylate synthase to form FMAU, which is incorporated into DNA, causing cell death. This study presents a model-based approach to integrating dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) and conventional plasma pharmacokinetic studies to characterize the plasma and tissue pharmacokinetics of FAU and FMAU. Twelve cancer patients were enrolled into a phase 1 study, where conventional plasma pharmacokinetic evaluation of therapeutic FAU (50-1600 mg/m ) and dynamic PET assessment of F-FAU were performed.

pH required to kill Enterococcus faecalis in vitro.

Enterococcus faecalis tolerates highly alkaline environments, yet the exact pH required for killing E. faecalis is not known. This study tests growth at 0.