142 results about "Cochlea implant" patented technology

A magnet system including a non-magnetic spacer, a hermetically sealed case, and at least one magnet located within the hermetically sealed case as well as associated cochlear implants and associated methods.

An exemplary system comprises a memory storing instructions and a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a process. The process may comprise directing stimulation to be applied to a recipient of a hearing system, the stimulation configured to elicit an evoked response within the recipient, directing a cochlear implant included in the hearing system to continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of the evoked response, and directing the cochlear implant to stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data.

Presented herein are systems and techniques for using an external component / device to collect eye movement data that is complementary to neurological measures / measurements (e.g., EEG measurements, inner ear measurements, or other electrophysiological measurements) obtained by an implantable component / device. Recipient eye movement can be tracked directly (e.g., with smart glasses) and / or indirectly (e.g., using eye movement-related eardrum oscillations (EMREO) measurements). The systems and techniques presented herein can use an implantable component (e.g., a cochlear implant, an EEG implant, etc.) to obtain electrophysiological measurements from a recipient. According to aspects presented herein, the electrophysiological measurements and the eye movement measurements are analyzed together in order to, for example, diagnosis a medical condition, predict or characterize a medical event, etc.

An illustrative insertion management system may be configured to provide, as a first input to a machine learning model, geometric model data specific to a recipient of a cochlear implant and representative of a geometrical model of a cochlea of the recipient, provide, as a second input to the machine learning model, procedure data representative of one or more contextual attributes of a lead insertion procedure in which an electrode lead is inserted to the cochlea of the recipient, and generate, based on an output of the machine learning model that takes into account the geometric model data and the procedure data, procedure assistance data configured to assist a user in performing the lead insertion procedure.

An apparatus, including an array of electrodes and an implantable therapeutic substance reservoir, wherein the apparatus is an implantable portion of a cochlear implant, the apparatus is configured so that the therapeutic substance reservoir extends from a location behind an ear canal of a human between a mastoid bone and skin of the human to the cochlea when the apparatus is fully implanted in a recipient, and the reservoir is completely integrated into the implantable portion of the cochlear implant.

A method including the steps of securing a plurality of contact subassemblies to a mold surface at longitudinally spaced locations within a mold with resilient material located between the contact subassemblies and the mold surface, the contact subassemblies including, prior to being placed into the mold, an electrically conductive contact having a flat portion defining lateral ends and side portions associated with the lateral ends of the flat portion and a lead wire secured to the electrically conductive contact, introducing resilient material into the mold to form an electrode array blank including a flexible body defining an exterior surface and the electrically conductive contacts below the exterior, and forming a plurality of windows in the electrode array blank that extend through the exterior surface of the flexible body to the electrically conductive contacts.

An apparatus in accordance with at least one of the present inventions comprises a cochlear implant including an electrode array with an array body that defines an outer surface and a plurality of electrically conductive contacts on the array body, and an electrode array cover assembly including an electrode array cover including a wall, defining an inner surface and an outer surface, and a plurality of spaced cover apertures that extend through an apertured portion of the wall from the inner surface to the outer surface and that are at least substantially aligned with the electrically conductive contacts, and means, at least partially within the electrode array cover, for holding the array body straight and against the inner surface of the apertured portion of the wall in such a manner that a fluidic seal is formed between the array body and the apertured portion of the wall.

A diagnostic system is disclosed that is configured to direct an acoustic stimulation generator to apply acoustic stimulation having a stimulus frequency to a recipient of a cochlear implant during an insertion procedure in which an electrode lead communicatively coupled to the cochlear implant is inserted into a cochlea of the recipient, direct the cochlear implant to use an electrode disposed on the electrode lead to record an evoked response signal during the insertion procedure, the evoked response signal representing amplitudes of a plurality of evoked responses that occur within the recipient in response to the acoustic stimulation applied to the recipient, and incrementally step, as the electrode lead is inserted into the values starting with an initial value and ending with a final value lower than the initial value.

An apparatus including a reservoir and a therapeutic substance located in the reservoir, wherein the apparatus is an implantable therapeutic substance delivery apparatus, and the apparatus is configured to deliver the therapeutic substance to a recipient thereof by diffusion controlled release. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus is also a cochlear implant.

An exemplary system comprises a memory that stores instructions and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to perform a process. The process may comprise accessing an individual three-dimensional (“3D”) cochlea model of a cochlea of a recipient of a cochlear implant system that includes a stimulating lead inserted into the cochlea during a lead insertion procedure, generating, based on the individual 3D cochlea model and procedure data associated with one or more lead insertion procedures performed with respect to one or more other recipients, an individualized drug delivery profile for the recipient, and transmitting a command to the cochlear implant system to cause release of a drug from the stimulating lead in accordance with the individualized drug delivery profile.

A system and method for inserting a cochlear implant electrode into a cochlea. The first magnet is secured to the cochlear implant electrode. The second magnet is coupled to the first magnet via magnetic attraction. A force is applied on the second magnet to urge the first magnet, and thus also urge the cochlear implant electrode into the cochlea. If a threshold force is exceeded, the first magnet and the second magnet will separate, preventing a force on the second magnet from causing insertion of the cochlear implant electrode into the cochlea.

A cochlear implant has a microphone unit having a housing and a bone anchor attached thereto. The bone anchor is configured to secure the microphone unit to bone that surrounds a tympanic cavity of a user such that the microphone unit is positioned within the tympanic cavity. The implant includes a primary microphone mounted within the housing to receive acoustic energy from an external source. The implant also includes a processor in communication with the microphone unit. The processor is configured to process the acoustic energy and to generate an electrical signal corresponding to the acoustic energy. The implant also includes a plurality of electrodes mounted on a cochlea of the user and in communication with the processor. The processor activates one or more of the plurality of electrodes to correspond to the generated electrical signal to cause a hearing sensation for the user that corresponds to the acoustic energy.

The apparatus comprises an implant 200, which may be a cochlear implant, having a plurality of electrodes, a memory 102 configured to store instructions and a processor 104 configured to execute the instructions. When executed the apparatus transmits to a pulse generator 110 an electrode operation signal 106 configured to generate a current pulse on a first pair of electrodes of the implant (202-208, fig 2), receive a first impedance signal 108a from a first measurement pair of electrodes due to interaction of the current pulse with the electrically conductive volume. Then receive a second impedance signal 108b from a second measurement pair of electrodes due to interaction with the electrically conductive volume. The first measurement pair of electrodes and the second measurement pair of electrodes are different. The processor then uses a predetermined mapping relationship to determine a distance between an electrode contact surface on the implant and a wall of the electrically conductive volume and output the determined distance. A surgical instrument for implant insertion is also disclosed. [Figure 1 to accompany the abstract]

A device includes a reservoir and a therapeutic substance located in the reservoir, where the device is an implantable therapeutic substance delivery device, and the device is configured to deliver the therapeutic substance to a recipient thereof by diffusion controlled release. In an exemplary embodiment, the device is also a cochlear implant.

Presented herein are techniques for determining a linguistic context from speech (e.g., a conversation) captured by a system and using the "linguistic context" or "second-order meaning" to initiate / generate an action at / by the system. More specifically, a hearing device (e.g., cochlear implant) or medical device is configured to capture / detect speech which has a primary / explicit, or first-order, meaning. An intelligence module that includes an artificial intelligence (AI) model, e.g., a large language model (LLM) or a large action model (LAM), is configured to obtain the speech and determine a linguistic context (second-order meaning) of the speech and determine the relevancy of the second order-meaning to the system and / or to the recipient (recipient-specific second-order meaning of the speech). Using the recipient- specific second-order meaning of the speech, one or more instructions can be generated and / or produced for implementation at the system.

An exemplary cochlear implant system includes a cochlear implant and a processing unit communicatively coupled with the cochlear implant. The cochlear implant may include a first optical element implanted within a recipient and positioned toward an inner surface of a skin flap of the recipient. The processing unit may cause an optical signal transmission between the first optical element and a second optical element included in an external device positioned toward outer surface of the skin flap relative to the first optical element. The optical signal transmission may include a transmission of an optical signal through the skin flap between the inner surface and the outer surface of the skin flap. Based on the optical signal transmission, one or more properties associated with the skin flap of the recipient may be determined.

A cochlear implant headpiece in accordance with one of the present inventions includes a housing including a top wall, a bottom wall and a receptacle that extends from the top wall to the bottom wall, that defines an open top end, an open bottom end and a central axis, and that includes a receptacle lock member, a magnet apparatus defining a bottom and including a magnet and a magnet apparatus lock member, and a headpiece antenna on or within the housing. The respective configurations of the receptacle and the magnet apparatus are such that the magnet apparatus can be inserted into the receptacle and, when fully inserted into the receptacle, the magnet apparatus bottom is located within or downwardly beyond the open bottom end of the receptacle. The respective configurations of the receptacle lock member and the magnet apparatus lock member are such that the fully inserted magnet apparatus will be fixed in one of a plurality of rotational orientations around the central axis. The present inventions also include cochlear stimulation systems with a sound processor and / or a cochlear implant in combination with such a headpiece.

Arrangements are described for monitoring cochlear implantation surgery. During surgical insertion of a cochlear implant electrode array into a patient cochlea, at least one measurement difference value is determined for at least one electrode contact currently located at a given insertion depth into the patient cochlea based on comparing current stimulus response data for the at least one electrode contact to prior stimulus response data for at least one prior electrode contact previously located at the given insertion depth. A potential trauma response is identified when the at least one measurement difference value exceeds a defined difference value.

A system for transferring motion from a non-sterilizable component to a sterilizable component is provided. The motion is transmitted by coupling a ferromagnetic source in the non-sterilizable component to a ferromagnetic sink attached to the sterilizable component. The ferromagnetic sinks may be configured as adapters that may be further coupled to tools for advancing or manipulating objects in the sterile field. A system for a surgical implantable medical device including an insertion tool is also provided. The insertion tool may be configured for holding and precise placement of a cochlear implant during surgery. The system of the present invention allows safe and accurate placement of cochlear implants in a patient in the context where the procedure is manually performed beyond the limits of human dexterity without the device of the present invention. An insertion tool for placing a cochlear implant may include a non-sterile handpiece incorporating electrical and mechanical components, an element for coupling the handpiece to a fine adjustment device, a sterile adapter, and a clip portion for holding the cochlear implant. Thus, a system of the invention is provided that ensures high quality cochlear implant insertion by safely and accurately placing the cochlear implant in a manner beyond the limits of dexterity of ordinary persons.

The utility model relates to an artificial cochlea implant receiving coil pin length control device which comprises a base, a limiting assembly and a cutting assembly. Wherein the base comprises a first step face and a second step face, the horizontal height of the first step face is larger than that of the second step face, and the limiting assembly is located at the end, close to the second step face, of the first step face; the first step surface is provided with a groove attached to the outer contour of the receiving coil, and when the receiving coil is placed in the groove, the pin of the receiving coil points to the direction of the second step surface and is pressed by the limiting assembly; the cutting assembly is arranged on the second step face and used for cutting off the pins, exceeding the first step face, of the receiving coil. Compared with the prior art, the pin length of the receiving coil can be more conveniently controlled, and the product performance is further guaranteed.

A cochlear implant system with a measurement unit is disclosed, the cochlear implant system comprising: an external unit configured to receive an acoustic sound and to process the acoustic sound into an encoded audio signal; an implantable unit configured to receive the encoded audio signal; a pulse generation unit configured to generate a first electrical pulse of a first pulse duration and a second electrical pulse of a second pulse duration different from the first pulse duration based on the encoded audio signal; an electrode array comprising a plurality of electrodes, wherein at least one of the plurality of electrodes is configured to receive at least the first electrical pulse and the second electrical pulse; a capacitor connected to at least one of the plurality of electrodes; a measurement unit configured to measure a first electrical voltage based on the first electrical pulse and a second electrical voltage based on the second electrical pulse across the connection of the at least one of the plurality of electrodes and the capacitor; and an evaluation unit configured to calculate a voltage difference between the measured first and second electrical voltages.

A cochlear implant and analysis system includes a stimulator, a first input source, a signal processor, a second input source, and an external device. The system can receive an acoustic stimulus, generate a first input signal from the first input source representative of the acoustic stimulus, and apply a transfer function to the input signal to generate and output a stimulation signal to the stimulator. The second input source can receive the acoustic stimulus and generate a second input signal representative thereof. The external device can receive and store the stimulation signal, the second input signal, and optionally the first input signal in a memory. The external device can also synchronize and compare the stimulation signal, the second input signal, and optionally the first input signal.

An illustrative system is configured to perform a process comprising: directing stimulation to be applied to a recipient of a bilateral hearing system that includes a first cochlear implant associated with a first ear of the recipient and a second cochlear implant associated with a second ear of the recipient; and causing the first cochlear implant and the second cochlear implant to simultaneously record, during an acquisition time window, one or more evoked responses within the recipient that are elicited by the stimulation.

The utility model relates to the technical field of artificial cochlea testing equipment, in particular to a constant-temperature testing device for an artificial cochlea implant, which comprises a container shell, the interior of the container shell is divided into a constant-temperature bath and a stimulation bath by a supporting part, and a limiting support table for supporting the implant is further arranged in the constant-temperature bath; wherein a temperature control assembly is installed in the thermostatic bath, a display control unit and an input and output unit are further installed on the outer side of the container shell, and the constant temperature detection device solves the problem that measurement needs to be conducted in a large-scale constant temperature box or an implant can only be measured in the room temperature state in the previous period. The temperature can be adjusted to be close to the human body temperature environment to the maximum extent, the testing accuracy is provided, the impedance of the implant stimulating electrode part can be adjusted, the human body nerve reaction signal simulation generation function can be simulated, and great convenience is provided for implant finished product testing.

This invention discloses a drilling path planning method, storage medium, and device for cochlear implantation, belonging to the field of path planning technology in cochlear implantation. This invention solves the problems of low efficiency and easy introduction of path deviation in existing path planning methods. The invention preprocesses preoperative three-dimensional CT images and integrates anatomical structural models to extract three-dimensional spatial geometric information of key tissues within the temporal bone, including the facial nerve and cochlea. Subsequently, combined with prior medical knowledge, the drilling path for the cochlear implant electrode is automatically planned in three-dimensional space to minimize damage to key nerves and ensure surgical safety. The path planning method of this invention is applicable to cochlear implantation surgery assisted by medical robots, significantly reducing reliance on the doctor's subjective judgment, improving the individualized adaptability and efficiency of path design, and effectively avoiding path deviation caused by human subjective judgment. This invention can be applied to path planning in cochlear implantation surgery.

A system and method for inserting a cochlear implant electrode into a cochlea. A first magnet is fastened to a cochlear implant electrode. A second magnet is coupled, via magnetic attraction, to the first. A force is placed on the second magnet to push the first magnet, and thus also the cochlear implant electrode, into the cochlea. If a threshold force is exceeded, the first magnet and second magnet will separate, preventing a force on the second magnet from causing insertion of the cochlear implant electrode into the cochlea.

A method, including the actions of obtaining access to a virtual reality system; activating a cochlear implant such that the cochlear implant evokes a hearing percept based on first input; and receiving second input from the virtual reality system in temporal proximity with the evocation of the hearing percept based on the first input, wherein the cochlear implant evokes a hearing percept based on the first input, and the second input is correlated with the first input.

A cochlear implant head-mounted device for use with a cochlear implant, comprising: a housing; a headset magnet magnetized in a diametrically direction, the headset magnet defining an axis and an N-S direction, and being within the housing and rotatable about the axis such that the N-S direction of the headset magnet is self-aligned with the direction of gravity when the axis is perpendicular to the direction of gravity; and a headset antenna associated with the housing.

A cochlear implant and analysis system includes a stimulator, a first input source, a signal processor, a second input source, and an external device. The system can receive an acoustic stimulus, generate a first input signal from the first input source representative of the acoustic stimulus, and apply a transfer function to the input signal to generate and output a stimulation signal to the stimulator. The second input source can receive the acoustic stimulus and generate a second input signal representative thereof. The external device can receive and store the stimulation signal, the second input signal, and optionally the first input signal in a memory. The external device can also synchronize and compare the stimulation signal, the second input signal, and optionally the first input signal.