Manufacturing an electrode array for a stimulating medical device

An medical implant, comprising:

• a cochlear implant electrode array including a plurality of individual electrode contacts and a plurality of electrically conductive pathways, respective individual contacts of the plurality of individual contacts being electrically connected to respective electrically conductive pathways of the plurality of electrically conductive pathways, wherein
• the cochlear implant electrode array includes cured silicone that maintains a spacing of the respective individual contacts relative to one another along a length of the array, and
• the contacts are made by a process of:
• obtaining a structure comprising a plurality of spaced apart electrode contacts supported by a support structure, the support structure and the plurality of spaced apart electrode contacts being monolithic;
• and
• detaching a plurality of electrode contacts of the plurality of electrode contacts from the support structure to obtain the plurality of individual electrode contacts of the cochlear implant electrode array.

A method of making an electrode array comprising:

• obtaining a piece of electrically conductive material;
• fabricating an intermediate product from the obtained piece of electrically conductive material, wherein the intermediate product includes a plurality of embryonic cochlear implant electrode array electrical contacts connected to one another by a remainder of the intermediate product;
• removing a plurality of embryonic cochlear implant electrode array electrical contacts of the plurality of embryonic cochlear implant electrode array electrical contacts from the remainder of the intermediate product to obtain a plurality of respective removed contacts;
• co-locating a transformable material with a plurality of respective removed contacts of the plurality of the respective removed contacts;
• and
• transforming the transformable material to obtain a cochlear implant electrode array including the plurality of the respective removed contacts of the plurality of the respective removed contacts.