Hybrid middle ear/cochlea implant system
AssigneesYitzhak Zilberman, Joseph Schulman
InventorsYitzhak Zilberman, Joseph H. Schulman
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Abstract
A system for enhancing hearing comprised of both a middle ear implant and a cochlear implant. The system directs signals relating to lower frequency sound to the middle ear implant and signals relating to higher frequency sound to the cochlear implant. The middle ear implant comprises an electrically driven actuator, e.g., a speaker, for vibrating the middle ear ossicles via air conducted sound energy or a mechanical transducer for physically contacting and mechanically vibrating the ossicles. The cochlear implant includes electrodes preferably implanted at a shallow level at the basal end of the cochlea.
Claims13
A system for enhancing a patient's hearing capability, said system comprising:
- an actuator mounted in said patient's middle ear actuatable to vibrate said patient's ossicles;
- at least one electrode implanted adjacent to said patient's cochlea energizable to stimulate said cochlea;
- and
- a sound processor for supplying output signals of a lower frequency to said actuator and of a higher frequency to said electrode.
In combination:
- an electrically actuatable transducer mounted in a patient's middle ear;
- a source of first electrical signals representing sound energy within a low frequency band BL;
- means applying said first electrical signals to said transducer for vibrating said patient's ossicles;
- an electrically energizable electrode array implanted adjacent to a patient's cochlea;
- a source of second electrical signals representing sound energy within a high frequency band BH;
- and
- means applying said second electrical signals to said electrode array for stimulating said patient's cochlea.
A method of enhancing a patient's hearing comprising:
- mounting an electrically actuatable transducer in a patient's ear;
- supplying first electrical signals representative of sound energy within a low frequency band BL to said transducer for vibrating said patient's ossicle;
- mounting an electrode array adjacent to a patient's cochlea;
- and
- supplying second electrical signals representative of sound energy within a high frequency band BH to said array for stimulating said patient's cochlea.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.