“For 30 million people with a vestibular loss, there is no effective treatment. It is possible to restore vestibular function only by implanting an artificial vestibular organ,” explains Professor Demkin, head of the Department of General and Experimental Physics and TSU Laboratory for Modelling of Physical Processes in Biology and Medicine. “However, the ones we have now are far from perfect. To develop a new vestibular implant we need fundamental knowledge on the conductivity of biological tissue, electrophysiology of peripheral vestibular labyrinth, and vestibular nerves.”

Direct electric stimulation replaces the vestibular organ and returns lost vestibular function. However, when electrical impulses are transmitted through the biological tissue of a vestibular organ they are distorted, which creates interference and disorient the patient. To solve this, the scientist needed to solve a number of problems concerning electrophysiology of peripheral vestibular labyrinth and finding the optimal regime of vestibular nerve stimulation.”
“The result of Raymond van de Berg’s work based at TSU and the Maastricht University is a complex physical and mathematical model of vestibular implant that will help improve the device and optimize its functions,” says Professor Demkin. “The model suggests a new form and location of electrodes in the inner ear, as well as a new form of electric impulse. Clinical experiments demonstrated the advantages of a complex approach to improving a vestibular implant. In the end, it will improve the effectiveness of treatment and bring their quality of life back to normal.”
In the first half of 2022, postgraduate students from China, Syria, Vietnam, Iraq, and Laos will also present their PhD dissertations.
