# US 11,115,758 B2 · System and method for multiplexed ultrasound hearing > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,115,758 B2 - Document ID: US11115758B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/839,802 - Filed: 2020-04-03 - Published: 2020-11-05 - Granted: 2021-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-30 - Assignees: Regents of the University of Minnesota - Applicants: Regents of the University of Minnesota - Inventors: Hubert H. Lim; Hongsun Guo - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11115758B2 ## CPC - H04R 25/48: {using constructional means for obtaining a desired frequency response (H04R25/652 takes precedence)} - H04R 25/606: {acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window} - H04R 25/75: {Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception} - H04R 25/353: {Frequency, e.g. frequency shift or compression} - H04R 2460/13: Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) ## Abstract A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system including: an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium; and a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor to: obtain an audio signal, extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, transpose the audio signal to the target frequency range based on extracting the at least one of the temporal feature or the spectral feature from the audio signal, generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal having at least one frequency between 100 kHz and 4 MHz by the transposed audio signal, and provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system comprising: an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium; and a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor configured to: obtain an audio signal, extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, generate a modified audio signal based on the extracted at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, perform at least one of onset or offset ramping on the modified audio signal to control at least one of temporal or frequency activation effects, generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal by the ramped modified audio signal, and provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the processor, when extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, is further configured to extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal using an envelope extractor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the processor, when extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, is further configured to extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal using a Hilbert transform. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the processor, when extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, is further configured to adjust the audio signal for audiological conditions. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The hearing system of claim 4, wherein the processor, when adjusting the audio signal for audiological conditions, is further configured to extract a plurality of frequency bands from the audio signal and separately scale at least one frequency band of the plurality of frequency bands. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform at least one of half-wave rectification or low-pass filtering of the audio signal to account for cochlear physiology. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the processor, when obtaining the audio signal, is further to apply at least one filter to the audio signal to extract at least one frequency band. ### Claim 8 A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system comprising: an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium; and a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor configured to: obtain an audio signal, apply at least one filter to the audio signal to extract at least one frequency band, extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the at least one frequency band of the audio signal, generate a modified audio signal based on the extracted at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, perform at least one of onset or offset ramping on the modified audio signal to control at least one of temporal or frequency activation effects, generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal by the ramped modified audio signal, and provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The hearing system of claim 8, wherein the processor, when extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature, is further configured to extract the at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature using an envelope extractor. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The hearing system of claim 8, wherein the processor, when extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature, is further configured to extract the at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature using a Hilbert Transform. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The hearing system of claim 8, wherein the processor, when extracting at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, is further configured to adjust the audio signal for audiological conditions. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The hearing system of claim 11, wherein the processor, when adjusting the audio signal for audiological conditions, is further configured to extract a plurality of frequency bands from the audio signal and separately scale at least one frequency band of the plurality of frequency bands. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The hearing system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to perform at least one of half-wave rectification or low-pass filtering of the audio signal to account for cochlear physiology. ### Claim 14 A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system comprising: an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium; and a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor configured to: obtain an audio signal, extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, adjust the audio signal for audiological conditions based on extracting the at least one of the temporal feature or the spectral feature from the audio signal, perform at least one of onset or offset ramping on the adjusted audio signal to control at least one of temporal or frequency activation effects, generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal by the ramped adjusted audio signal, and provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The hearing system of claim 14, wherein the processor, when obtaining the audio signal, is further configured to apply at least one filter to the audio signal to extract one or more frequency bands. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The hearing system of claim 15, wherein the processor, when adjusting the audio signal for audiological conditions, is further configured to separately scale at least one frequency band of the plurality of frequency bands. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The hearing system of claim 14, wherein the processor, when adjusting the audio signal for audiological conditions, is further configured to compensate the audio signal for expected changes caused by cerebrospinal fluid. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The hearing system of claim 14, wherein the processor, when adjusting the audio signal for audiological conditions, is further configured to perform half-wave rectification of the audio signal to account for cochlear physiology. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The hearing system of claim 14, wherein the processor, when adjusting the audio signal for audiological conditions, is further configured to perform low-pass filtering of the audio signal to account for cochlear physiology.