Design and Development of Artificial epithelium Membrane

Abstract

Over a million children require either hearing aids or Cochlear Implant surgery to address hearing impairment. Problems associated with the middle ear and outer ear leading to Conductive hearing loss are addressed by hearing aids that amplify the sound signal. Problems associated with the inner ear or auditory nerve are termed sensorineural loss. The major pathway of sound reaching the brain is facilitated by the motion of the Basilar Membrane (BM) (which rests inside a snail-shaped bony structure of the inner ear called cochlea) and hair cells converting sound waves to electrical impulses reaching the auditory nerve. As the Basilar membrane along with the hair cells is not capable of stimulating of auditory nerve, sound perception is hindered leading to nerve deafness. Conventional Cochlear implants are the existing solutions for people born with sensorineural loss. Cochlear implants consist of a typical arrangement of a microphone, signal processor, inductive coil and an electrode array for stimulating the nerve cells. But this conventional solution is bypassing the function of the outer and middle ear which are healthy and functional in sensorineural loss patients. Hence there is a need to develop an artificial cochlea that facilitates the motion of Basilar Membrane in a non-functional cochlea and retains the functionality of the middle and outer ear. newlineThis doctoral work mainly focuses on the development of a flexible piezoelectric Artificial Epithelium Membrane with dimensions of 28 mm in length, width varies from 1 mm to 8 mm with a uniform thickness of 25 and#956;m, that mimics the functionality of the cochlea. The workflow includes Simulation of Artificial Epithelium Membrane (AEM), Synthesis and fabrication of different nanocomposite membranes using spin coating and electrospinning, Characterization using analytical tools such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), metallization, Customized packaging and testing of developed membra