ArticleHearing research2026
Development of zwitterionic hydrogel thin film coatings of cochlear implant electrode arrays that reduce intracochlear inflammation and electrode impedance.
Article in Hearing research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Cochlear implants (CIs) have revolutionized the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, yet patient outcomes remain highly variable due to biological responses within the cochlea. A critical challenge is the foreign body response (FBR) triggered by CI biomaterials, which can lead to inflammation, fibrosis, and increased electrode impedance, ultimately impairing auditory function. Zwitterionic hydrogels have been shown to provide a highly lubricious anti-fouling surface that minimizes protein and cell adsorption. This study evaluates a carboxybetaine methacrylate (CBMA) zwitterionic hydrogel coating to reduce the FBR to cochlear implants. Using a large animal (sheep) model, human CI electrode arrays were coated with a thin film CBMA hydrogel via one step UV photografting and photopolymerization with a custom mold. Electrophysiological measurements at the time of implantation demonstrate significantly reduced total impedance, polarization impedance, and access resistance in CBMA-coated CIs. Reductions in total impedance and access resistance were maintained after 4 weeks in vivo. High-resolution Xray Microscopy imaging confirmed intracochlear placement without translocation or tip fold-over and a trend to reduced neoossification in CBMA-coated implants. Histological analysis revealed significantly decreased cellular infiltration, macrophage infiltration, and fibrotic tissue deposition within the cochlea surrounding CBMA-coated implants compared to uncoated controls. This work highlights the potential of durable thin film zwitterionic coatings to enhance CI performance and preserve residual hearing by mitigating insertional trauma and attenuating chronic inflammation and fibrosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.