Auditory Prosthesis Stimulation Parameter Optimization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current auditory prostheses, such as cochlear implants, often fail to optimize stimulation parameters for individual cognitive auditory abilities, leading to suboptimal processing of auditory information due to cross modal reorganization, which varies across recipients, resulting in inconsistent performance and the need for time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus that assess a recipient's cognitive auditory ability through objective and subjective evaluations to generate an auditory ability profile, which is used to select and adjust stimulation parameters correlated to the recipient's specific cognitive abilities, optimizing the delivery of electrical audio information and reducing the need for trial-and-error adjustments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If stimulation parameters are optimized for each recipient based on cognitive auditory ability assessment, then processing efficiency of auditory information is improved, but assessment and parameter selection complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing efficiency of auditory informationVSAvoidassessment and parameter selection complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes stimulation parameters based on assessed cognitive auditory ability parameters. Different recipients receive customized parameter sets (e.g., pulse width, frequency, amplitude) corresponding to their cognitive auditory profiles, thereby optimizing processing efficiency while managing complexity through systematic parameter mapping

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs self-assessment of cognitive auditory ability through standardized evaluations and automatically generates appropriate stimulation parameters without requiring manual adjustment for each recipient, reducing operational complexity while maintaining optimization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If trial-and-error adjustments are used to optimize stimulation parameters, then parameter customization is achieved, but time required for optimization increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveparameter customizationVSAvoidtime required for optimization

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary assessment of cognitive auditory ability before finalizing stimulation parameters. By evaluating and categorizing recipients' cognitive auditory profiles in advance, the system pre-determines appropriate parameter ranges, eliminating time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments while maintaining customized parameter selection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback from cognitive auditory ability assessments to automatically adjust stimulation parameters. This closed-loop approach uses assessment results as direct input for parameter selection, achieving rapid customization without iterative trial-and-error processes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS10183164B2Stimulation parameter optimization

Publication Date: 2019.01.22 COCHLEAR LIMITED

AI summary

Presented herein are techniques for optimizing stimulation parameters for use in a stimulating auditory prosthesis based on a recipient's cognitive auditory ability.