ALOHA seeks novel and innovative treatment approaches. Our sense of hearing is one of our most vital abilities, serving as a bridge to the world from as early as the eighth week of pregnancy. Above all, it enables us to connect with other people and facilitates communication in ways that our other senses cannot match.
Hearing loss is a significant global health issue, affecting over 5% of the world’s population. Our laboratory focuses on describing structural and physiological mechanisms, identifying treatment targets, and developing innovative therapeutic solutions. Our structural research mainly focuses on the endoscopic anatomy of the middle ear and the interface between the ear and the central nervous system. Direct endoscopic observations are correlated with advanced imaging techniques, such as multiscale synchrotron-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging. Furthermore, dynamic imaging methods have recently been developed to decode the middle ear’s transfer function and ultimately improve the success rate of reconstructive surgery. This approach was developed in an SNSF-funded project in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute. Furthermore, grating interferometry computed tomography is being developed for application to the hearing system in an interdisciplinary project involving ETH Zurich and the University Hospital of Zurich. This project has recently been approved for funding by the SNSF.
In the field of neuroscience, a direct approach to cortical auditory coding is being investigated using soft surface electrodes to develop a cortical auditory implant.