The objective of this thesis is to provide additional insight into the electrode array-nerve fibre interface that exists in the implanted cochlea and to facilitate investigation of new electrode arrays in interaction with the cochlea and auditory nerve fibres. The focus is on potential distributions and excitation profiles generated by different electrode array types and factors that could have an influence on these distributions and profiles. Research contributions made by the thesis are the creation of a detailed 3-D model of the implanted cochlea that accurately predicts measurable effects in cochlear implant wearers and facilitates effortless simulation of existing and new electrode array variations; the establishment of the important anatomical structures required in a 3-D representation of the implanted cochlea; establishment of evidence that array location is the primary parameter that controls spread of excitation; definition of the critical focussing intensity of intracochlear electrode pairs; confirmation thatmonopolar stimulation could deliver focussed stimulation to approximately the same degree than that delivered by widely spaced electrode configurations and that the use of monopolar configurations over bipolar configurations are therefore advantageous under certain conditions; explanation of the effect that encapsulation tissue around cochlear implant electrodes could have on neural excitation profiles; extension of the information available on the focussing ability of multipolar intracochlear electrode configurations; and establishment of evidence that a higher lateral electrode density could facilitate better focussing of excitation, continuous shaping of excitation profiles and postoperative customization of electrode arrays for individual implant wearers. / Dissertation (PhD(Electronic Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / Unrestricted

The continuous increase of the voltage levels in power transmission systems has lead to the occurrence of higher switching transients during their operation. The design of equipment and grid components able to sustain such a stressful operation, requires an intensive study of the electric field stress generated by these transients, and their distribution to the vicinity of each configuration. Sphere-plane gaps are the most theoretically and practically interesting electrode configurations. So far, the majority of the conducted work is referred to the study of the discharge characteristics of this structure. However, a study of the electrostatic electric field is required. An accurate calculation of the electric field can contribute significantly to an even better understanding of the discharge characteristics and the principles behind them. In this project, is presented a simulation approach for the calculation of the electro-static field of a sphere-plane configuration, varying the dimensions of the sphere and the gap distance. For this purpose, a Finite Element Method (FEM) solver was used, in which the configuration was designed and the numerical solution of the problem was implemented. After that, an attempt was performed to specify the breakdown voltage based on the electric field calculation and distribution. Useful results were recorded from both the simulation of the electrostatic model and the calculation of the breakdown voltage. One of the most important findings, was the specification of an approximate relation between the diameters of the sphere and the tube where this is mounted. As a consequence, the study of the electric field distribution became easier, while at the same time an accurate calculation of the breakdown voltage was achieved. A series of validations were performed, through the comparison with the already ex-isting, published and unpublished, experimental tests and a number of conclusions were listed. One of the most significant, was the specification of the correlation between the electrostatic model and test measurements and how these different approaches can be linked to each other in a practically efficient way. At the end, there is a proposal for further work on the subject, and possible improvements of the already conducted work. / Ökningen av spänningsnivåerna i kraftöverföringssystem har lett till högre kop-plingstransienter under drift. Konstruktionen av utrustning och nätverkskomponen-ter som kan motstå en sådan påkänning, kräver en noggrann förstudie av de elektriska fältet som genereras av dessa transienter. Ett gap av sfär-platta är den mest teoretiskt och praktiskt intressanta elektrodkon-figurationen att studera. Hittills har majoritetet av genomfört arbete avsett att studera urladdningsegenskaper för denna struktur. Dock krävs studie av elektrostatiska elek-triska fältet. En noggrann beräkning av elektriska fältet kan bidra till en ännu bättre förståelse för urladdningsegenskaper och principerna bakom dem. I detta projekt presenteras en simuleringsmetod för beräkning av elektrostatiska fäl-tet av en sfär-plan konfiguration, med varierande dimensioner av sfären och gapavstån-det. För detta ändamål har använts en Finite Element Method (FEM) lösning, där kon-figurationen utformades och problemets numeriska lösningen genomfördes. Därefter har gjorts ett försök för att ange genombrottsspänningen baserad på beräkning och distribution av elektriskta fältet. Resultat registrerades från både simulering av elektrostatiska modellen och beräkn-ing av genomslagsspänningen. Ett av de viktigaste resultaten var specifikationen av ett ungefärligt förhållande mellan diametrarna av sfären och röret där sfären är monterad. Som en konsekvens blev studiet av elektriska fältfördelningen lättare, medan en exakt beräkning av genomslagsspänningen uppnåddes. En valideringsserie har genomförts genom jämförelse med de redan existerande, publicerade och opublicerade, experimentella tester och ett antal slutsatser har noterats. En av de mest meningsfulla, var specifikation av sambandet mellan den elektrostatiska modellen och provmätningarna samt hur dessa olika tillvägagångssätt kan kopplas till varandra på ett praktiskt och effektivt sätt. Slutligen finns det ett förslag för fortsatta arbete samt eventuella förbättringar av redan genomfört arbete.