Advanced cochlea access
AssigneeCochlear Limited
InventorsWolfram Frederik DUECK, Daniel SMYTH
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device, including a therapeutics substance delivery apparatus and an incisor, wherein the device is a minimally invasive inner ear therapeutic substance delivery device configured to reach the inner ear through a passage through the tympanic membrane to incise through tissue and deliver a therapeutic substance, and the incisor is at least one of a drill bit configured to drill through a promontory of a cochlea of a human, or a conduit configured to pierce a round window of the human with a fully intact round window niche.
Claims23
A device, comprising:
- an ear system endoscope configured to incise through tissue to reach duct(s) of an inner ear of a human and to deliver a therapeutic substance to the duct(s) through a resulting incision.
(canceled)
9-11. (canceled)
A system, comprising:
- a processor;
- a sensor;
- and
- an output device, wherein
- the system is configured to automatically process data from the sensor indicative of sensed tissue of an ear system of a human sensed by the sensor and, using the processor, automatically identify a location in the ear system for an incision to access an area of the ear system behind the location, and provide output indicative of the identified location.
18-30. (canceled)
A device, comprising:
- a therapeutics substance delivery apparatus;
- and
- an incisor, wherein
- the device is a minimally invasive inner ear therapeutic substance delivery device configured to reach the inner ear through a passage through the tympanic membrane no greater than 10 mm 5 mm in diameter to incise through tissue and deliver a therapeutic substance, and
- the incisor is at least one of a drill bit configured to drill through a promontory of a cochlea of a human, or a conduit configured to pierce a round window of the human with a fully intact round window niche.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.