FP03-4. MECHANICAL FAILURE IN STAPES PISTONS

Manohar Bance, Katie Kirkpatrick, Lillian Wong, Basil Hassoneh, Rene van Wijhe (Dalhousie University, Canada)

Background: Stapes pistons often fail by decoupling from the incus, probably because of mechanical load from scarring on the piston.

Objectives: To determine the mechanical process by which prosthesses decouple from the incus in response to a mechanical load

Methods: Several varieties of pistons were crimped to an explanted incus. A load was applied in both a push and a pull manner to each piston. Sequential photographs and videos were taken to document the deformation of the piston as the load increased. The mechanism of how the piston decoupled from the incus was analyzed for each piston type

Results: Each piston design seems to respond differently to a push or a push load. The force required to decouple the piston also varies by piston type, and the tightness of the crimping

Conclusions: Pistons can be optimized for better stability at the incus/prosthesis junction/

* Contact person email: m.bance@dal.ca