Statistical calibration of a finite element model for human middle ear

Abstract

A Finite element (FE) model of a human middle ear is developed, assessed, and updated using a statistical approach. The model consists of three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes), a tympanic membrane, tendons, and ligaments. The uncertainty of the model input parameters associated with the material properties and boundary conditions are considered in order to assess the validity of the model. The variation of the umbo displacement transfer function (UDTF) as a result of the uncertainty of the model input parameters is estimated and compared with those from experiments. Using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a three-level orthogonal array, the most important calibration parameters, which are composed of stiffness-related and density variables, are selected. Furthermore, a metric for statistical calibration is introduced. Through minimizing the calibration metric, the calibration parameters are updated in order to enhance the performance of the middle ear FE model. The proposed statistical calibration framework effectively improves the middle ear FE model performance.

Defining the URCOTEBS System as a Unilateral Radiographic–Stochastic Model for the Complementary States (Health/Disease) of the D-Organ and Middle-Ear Mucosa

“…Statistical calibration has also been used on geometry-based models such as the finite element (FE) model to calculate dynamic characteristics of the middle ear [39,[53][54][55][56].…”

Vibrational and numerical evaluation of Human Incus properties

“…Secondly, the inhomogeneity in the FE model was introduced. According to the literature [13,19,20] the eigenvalue calculations were performed with different value of long process density equal to 5080 kg/m 3 comparing to body density of 2030 kg/m 3 . By doing this, it was found that when the density of our sample is not homogeneous the frequency values obtained for E = 4.5 × 10 +09 Pa are lower than experimental ones.…”

Recent Developments in FullField Thickness Measurements of the Human Eardrum

“…Although there was a general consensus on the inhomogeneous mass distribution in different locations on the TM, the lack of accurate full-field thickness data caused the earliest applications of finite element modeling (FEM) in hearing research to employ single thickness values across the entire membrane 7 . With the advent of high-resolution noninvasive depth scanning techniques such as OCT, and with the increase in computational processing power, more and more sophisticated models of the middle ear are being developed 8,9 . Combination of the earlier presented full-field TM thickness data with measurements of the sound-induced motion of the TM surface and with cone-beam CT measurements of the incudo-mallear (IM) joint has led to detailed finite element models that allowed more accurate estimation of the viscoelastic properties of the TM 10 and highprecision morphometric analysis of the human IM complex 11 .…”