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Middle ear implant

A technology for ear implants and middle ears, which can be applied to ear implants, electrical components, sensors, etc., and can solve problems such as differences in performance and feasibility

Active Publication Date: 2010-03-31
MED EL ELEKTROMEDIZINISCHE GERAETE GMBH
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

It is well known to those skilled in the art that in the design of actuators, small variations that may be substantially similar in appearance can make large and noticeable differences in performance and even feasibility for a particular application

Method used

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Embodiment Construction

[0034] Suitable electrode arrangements for incorporation into the actuator of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and, therefore, will not be discussed in detail here.

[0035] overall reference Figures 1 to 12 , first refer to figure 1 and 2 , where an actuator 10 for a middle ear implant according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0036] The middle ear implant is in the form of an electromechanical actuator 10 comprising a piezoelectric stack 12 which may ideally have a plurality of piezoelectric elements which may include, by way of non-limiting example, 40 Up to 80 pieces, the cross-section of each piezoelectric element is advantageously but not necessarily about 0.4 mm x 0.9 mm, and the thickness of each piezoelectric element is advantageously but not necessarily between 20 μm and 40 μm, preferably made of zirconate titanate Lead (PZT) or other piezoelectric material with the same or better con...

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PUM

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Abstract

A hearing actuator (10) for implantation in the middle ear of a user. The actuator comprises transducer means (for example a piezoelectric device) (12) for converting electrical input signals into mechanical vibrations, and attachment means (16) for attaching one end of the transducer means to a first part of the middle ear. The actuator also comprises contacting means (14) which extends from an opposite end of the transducer means such that a longitudinal axis of the contacting means is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the transducer means. The contacting means is for contacting a second part of the middle ear (to which it may be attached), so as to transmit the mechanical vibrations of the transducer means thereto.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to devices for assisting hearing-impaired persons, and more particularly, the present invention relates to the arrangement of electromechanical actuators that can be attached directly to the ossicular chain of the middle ear for amplifying vibrations generated by sound signals. Background technique [0002] Deafness affects 9 million people in the UK, over 80% of whom have sensorineural deafness (SD). This debilitating condition afflicts approximately 10% of the population of the Western world. There are several reasons, and aging is an important reason, with a larger proportion for those patients over 60 years old. Hearing impairment is the third most prevalent chronic problem affecting the aging population and the least diagnosed one. There is also a tendency to increase in some younger age group segments due to exposure to loud noise. [0003] There is currently no effective way to repair the cochlea or the neural pa...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): H04R25/00
CPCH04R25/606H04R17/00A61F2002/183
Inventor 大卫·欧内斯特·扬埃里克·威廉·艾贝尔罗宾·罗里斯多佛·布罗迪
Owner MED EL ELEKTROMEDIZINISCHE GERAETE GMBH
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