Patient-customized electrode arrays based on patient-specific cochlear information, and designing/selecting methods and applications of same

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a computer or system to perform a method for designing a patient-customized electrode array (EA) or selecting an existing EA that fits the patient best, the method comprising:

• segmenting shapes of structures of interest (SOIs) of a cochlea of the patient in a pre-operative computed tomography (CT) image of the cochlea using a shape model, wherein the EA is to be placed in the cochlea;
• defining a three dimensional (3D) curve of interest within the shape model of the SOIs as a sequence of points, {Pi}, wherein i=1, 2, 3, . . . N, N is an integer greater than zero;
• automatically transforming the defined 3D structure curve to the pre-operative CT image so as to obtain a structure curve in the cochlea;
• determining a length and curvatures of the structure curve at the sequence of points {Pi};
• and
• designing a patient-customized EA or selecting an existing EA based on the determined length and curvatures of the structure curve such that after the EA shape model, which estimates the resting state shape of the EA, is rigidly registered to the structure curve in the cochlea, the EA shape model has a registration error smaller than a preset value;
• wherein the structure curve is a lateral wall curve in the cochlea, wherein the EA is a straight EA;
• and
• wherein the straight EA has a length determined such that when placed along the lateral wall curve, an angular insertion depth of the distal electrode reaches about 500 degrees, while a proximal electrode falls safely within the cochlea being greater than 30 degrees.