Otologic surgery device and method for drilling a passage up to a cochlea

An otologic surgery device for providing assistance in otologic surgery of a patient who is to be implanted with a cochlea implant, the otologic surgery device comprising:

• position-identification means for identifying coordinates of an entry point on a surface of a cochlea and of a control point in a sinus tympani, the position-identification means being operable via an external auditory canal, wherein the position-identification means is configured to acquire and store respective positions of points selected directly on the surface of the cochlea and in the sinus tympani and is adapted to be operated by a practitioner of the otologic surgery device prior to drilling to thereby allow the practitioner to selectively acquire and store each of the entry point and the control point;
• processor means to respond to the coordinates of the entry point and the control point as identified by the position-identification means to determine an equation for a straight-line path passing through the entry point and the control point and defining a docking point on the straight-line path on an outside surface of a mastoid bone such that the docking point, the control point and the entry point are on the same straight-line path;
• and
• otologic drilling means, separate and distinct from the position-identification means, for drilling a passage from the docking point up to the cochlea through the mastoid bone along said straight-line path as determined by the equation, so as to create a passage up to the cochlea, wherein the docking point for the otologic drilling means and the straight-line path followed by the otologic drilling means are predetermined by the device before drilling the passage.