Clinical Evaluation of a New ECoG Recording Electrode

Noninvasive, extratympanic electrocochleography (ECoG) was performed on 13 normal-hearing subjects with three different types of ECoG electrodes. Two of these electrodes, the Life-Tech and Axonics-3M designs are commercially available, and widely used clinically. The third electrode, the TM electrode, is a newly designed system intended to be placed directly onto the tympanic membrane. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical performance of these different electrodes with particular attention to response amplitudes, response variability, and practical ease of use. The results indicate that the TM electrode provides improved ECoG response amplitudes while minimizing clinical preparation time.