A new paper titled “Noninvasive Targeted Temperature Management of the Inner Ear: Numerical Simulations and Experimental Measurements in a Human Cadaver Model” has been published in Otology & Neurotology. This research, completed in collaboration with Dr. Suhrud Rajguru’s laboratory at the University of Miami by Dr. Maria Fernanda Yepes, tested RestorEar’s ReBound cold packs on cadaveric models.
Maintaining the models at normal physiological conditions (i.e. body temperature), frozen ReBound cold packs were placed externally over the temporal bone. Temperature changes in the middle and inner ear were recorded over 60 or 30 minutes. Additionally, three-dimensional geometrical models were created from imaging data for finite element heat transfer analysis.
Application of frozen ReBound cold packs led to an inner ear temperature drop of 2.9°C within 30 minutes and 4.6°C within 60 minutes. The numerical model supported these findings. Further, the cooling effect was maintained for 10 minutes after removing the device.
We know that cooling has protective effects in the inner ear following injuries such as cochlear implantation and noise overexposure. However, invasive methods of applying cooling to the inner ear can be difficult and impractical. Developing a localized, noninvasive approach for cooling the inner ear externally presents a huge step forward in clinical application of this therapy. The findings of this study support this novel approach for protecting inner ear structures and promoting hearing health.