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US 10,238,871 B2Granted
Implantable medical device arrangements
AssigneeCochlear Limited
InventorKoen Van den Heuvel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments presented herein are generally directed to arrangements for implantable medical devices. The implantable medical devices may include one or more of a single-body calvaria implant and an implantable microphone subcutaneously implanted in the recipient's forehead region.
Claims20
A totally-implantable bilateral hearing prosthesis, comprising:
- first and second stimulation arrangements configured to be implanted at a left and right ear, respectively, of a recipient;
- one or more sound input elements configured to receive sound signals;
- and
- a single-body calvaria implant electrically connected to the first and second stimulation arrangements, and comprising:
- a hermetically-sealed housing,
- a bilateral sound processor disposed in the housing, and
- a bilateral stimulator unit disposed in the housing,
- wherein the bilateral sound processor and bilateral stimulator unit are configured to convert the sound signals received via the one or more sound input elements into bilateral stimulation signals that are delivered to the recipient via the first and second stimulation arrangements.
5 more elements
A hearing prosthesis method, comprising:
- positioning an implantable module in a recipient, wherein the implantable module includes a sound processor and a stimulator unit;
- positioning at least one totally-implanted microphone in a recipient's forehead region adjacent to a frontal bone of the recipient's skull;
- receiving, with the totally-implanted microphone, sound signals through forehead tissue of the recipient;
- converting the sound signals into electrical signals;
- and
- providing the electrical stimulation signals to the sound processor in the implantable module for conversion into stimulation signals for delivery to the recipient.
3 more elements
A totally-implantable bilateral hearing prosthesis, comprising:
- at least one implantable microphone configured to be implanted in a head of the recipient and to receive sound signals through tissue of the recipient;
- an implantable module including a sound processor and a stimulator unit collectively configured to convert the sound signals into electrical stimulation signals;
- and
- first and second stimulation arrangements each electrically connected to the implantable module and configured to deliver the electrical stimulation signals to left and right ears, respectively, of the recipient.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.