US 2003/0171787 A1 · Cochlear implant

Abstract

A totally implantable cochlear implant system forming a single implantable unit (40). The unit (40) has an implantable power source (43) that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit (40). The unit (40) also has an on-board microphone (42) that detects external sounds, such as speech, and outputs acoustic signals representative of the detected sounds. The unit further includes speech processor circuitry (44) that directly receives the acoustic signals from the microphone (42) and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds. An electrode array (20) suitable for insertion of the cochlea (2) of an implantee receives the stimulation signals and transmits electrical stimulations to the implantee'auditory nerve (9).

Claims42

Dependent claims

A totally implantable cochlear implant system having an implantable unit comprising:

(i) a hermetically sealed housing including:
(a) a power source that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit;
(b) a microphone that detects sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds;
and
(c) a processor means that directly receives said acoustic signals and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds;
and
(ii) an electrode array suitable for insertion in the cochlea of an implantee, the array once inserted being adapted to receive the stimulation signals and output electrical stimulation to the implantee's auditory nerve.

4 more elements

A cochlear implant system having an implantable unit adapted to work, when necessary, in conjunction with an external device, wherein:

the implantable unit comprises:
(i) a hermetically sealed housing including:
(a) a power source that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit;
(b) a microphone that detects sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds;
and
(c) a processor means that directly receives said acoustic signals and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds;
(ii) an electrode array suitable for insertion in the cochlea of an implantee, the array once inserted being adapted to receive the stimulation signals and output electrical stimulation to the implantee's auditory nerve;
(iii) an antenna coil suitable for implantation in the implantee;
and
(iv) a deactivation means comprising a resonance circuit, a waveform generator circuit in the housing that outputs a relatively narrow energy waveform that excites the resonance circuit at a regular interval, and a waveform monitoring means that monitors one or more features of the generated waveform following the excitation, wherein any change in the features of the waveform resulting from a metal object being brought to a position adjacent the resonance circuit but external the skin of the implantee are detectable by the monitoring means which, on detection, outputs a signal that at least stops electrical stimulation of the implantee's auditory nerve;
and
the external device comprises:
(A) an external power source;
(B) an external microphone that detects sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds;
(C) an external processor means that receives said acoustic signals of said external microphone and generates a coded signal representative of the detected sounds;
and
(D) an external antenna coil adapted to inductively couple with the antenna coil of the implantable unit and provide a radio frequency link between the implantable unit and the external device;
wherein the coded signal output by the external processor is transmitted to the electrode array through the radio frequency link.

15 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Cochlear implant

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Cochlear implant

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims42