Back to results
US 2011/0301404 A1Published application
Device and method for applying a vibration signal to a human skull bone
AssigneeOticon Medical A/S
InventorBengt BERN
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeOticon Medical A/S
InventorBengt BERN
Estimating the term…
Hearing losses caused by deficiencies in a person's outer or middle ear may be compensated for by converting received sounds to vibrations and transmitting the vibrations to the skull bone (2). Bone-conduction hearing devices (27) may transmit such vibrations transcutaneously or percutaneously. In both cases, a precise determination of the magnitude of the vibrations applied to the skull bone (2) is needed for determining the person's bone-conduction hearing thresholds as well as for calibrating the hearing devices (27). The present invention provides a device (1, 27, 37) and a method, which allow determination of the applied vibrational force with better precision than prior art devices and methods. This is achieved by placing an accelerometer (21) on the countermass (11) of the vibrator (1) that generates the vibration signal. The accelerometer (21) thus provides an acceleration signal representative of an acceleration of the countermass (11), from which acceleration signal the vibrational force may be determined precisely and reproducibly.
A device for applying a vibration signal to a human skull bone, the device comprising a vibration element, a motor, a countermass, a retaining element and an accelerometer, the vibration element being adapted to transmit vibrations to the skull bone via an intervening element the vibration element having a surface adapted to abut the intervening element in an operating position of the device, the motor being adapted to cause the vibration element and the countermass to vibrate relative to each other, the retaining element being adapted to retain the device in the operating position, characterised in that the accelerometer is mechanically connected to the countermass and is adapted to provide an acceleration signal representative of an acceleration of the countermass.
A bone-conduction hearing device comprising a device according to any of the preceding claims.
A method for applying a vibration signal to a human skull bone via an intervening element, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.