Cochlear implant having electrically nonconductive occludent for tissue openings
AssigneeCochlear Limited
InventorPaul M. Carter
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrically nonconductive occludent constructed and arranged to forcefully infill a tissue opening so as to effectively prevent transport of electrical current, fluid and bacteria through the tissue opening. A cochlear implant comprising: an elongate electrode carrier member having at least one electrode disposed thereon, wherein the carrier member is configured to traverse a cochleostomy to position the electrodes in the cochlea; and an electrically nonconductive occludent constructed and arranged to circumferentially surround a portion of the carrier member traversing the cochleostomy, and to forcefully infill cochleostomy thereby segregating perilymphatic canals of the cochlea from extracochlear regions.
Claims20
An electrode array of a cochlear implant, comprising:
- an elongate electrode carrier member having at least one electrode disposed thereon, wherein the carrier member is configured to traverse an opening in a cochlea to position the at least one electrode in the cochlea, wherein
- at least a first portion of the carrier member is configured to be circumferentially dilatable to infill a gap between the carrier member and the opening and thereby segregate intra-cochlear regions from extracochlear regions.
A method of implanting an elongate carrier member of a cochlear implant in a cochlea of a recipient, comprising:
- implanting the carrier member into the cochlea through a passageway from an extracochlear region into the cochlea;
- and
- deforming a portion of the carrier member to infill the passageway.
An electrode array of a cochlear implant, comprising:
- an elongate electrode carrier member having at least one electrode disposed thereon, wherein the carrier member is configured to traverse an opening in a cochlea to position the at least one electrode in the cochlea, wherein
- the carrier member is configured to infill a gap between the carrier member and the opening present after insertion of the electrode array to a desired position and thereby segregate intracochlear regions from extracochlear regions without moving a component to a location between an outer surface of the carrier member and the opening in the cochlea and without moving the electrode array from the desired position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.