Bilateral Cochlear Implant Channel Selection Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bilateral cochlear implant systems lack synchronization in spectral content between the two sides, leading to independent selection of electrode stimulation channels, which can result in different spectral cues and interfere with the perception of sound sources, especially in noisy environments.
Innovation Solution
Implement a bilateral channel selection method that synchronizes the selection of stimulation channels on both sides based on combined spectral content, using techniques such as a composite set of combined band pass signals or a master-slave arrangement, to ensure synchronized spectral cues for improved sound localization and perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If independent channel selection is performed on each side of the bilateral cochlear implant system, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but spectral synchronization is lost leading to degraded sound localization and perception in noisy environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from the spectral content analysis to dynamically adjust channel selection on both sides. The spectral content of the combined audio signal is continuously monitored, and this information feeds back into the channel selection process to ensure that the same channels are selected on both left and right sides, maintaining spectral synchronization while adapting to changing acoustic environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the channel selection process by selecting channels based on the spectral content of the combined audio signal from both ears rather than independently for each side. This combining approach ensures that both cochlear implants receive the same spectral cues, improving sound localization and perception in noisy environments while maintaining system simplicity.
2Reliability
If synchronized channel selection is implemented based on combined spectral content, then sound localization and speech understanding in noisy environments is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The channel selection mechanism serves multiple functions: it selects active channels based on spectral content, ensures spectral synchronization between both sides, and adapts to noisy environments. By making the channel selection process universal and based on combined spectral analysis, the system achieves improved sound localization and speech understanding without requiring separate complex control mechanisms for each side.
3Loss of information
If all electrode contacts are stimulated in each stimulation frame, then complete spectral coverage is achieved, but interference between channels increases due to overlapping electrical fields
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and stimulates only the most relevant electrode channels based on the spectral content of the audio signal. Instead of stimulating all electrode contacts, the channel selection process identifies and extracts the specific channels that contain the most important spectral information for the current acoustic scene, thereby maintaining complete spectral coverage while avoiding interference from non-essential channels.
Data Source
AI summary
A bilateral hearing implant system has a left side and a right side. Left and right side filter bank pre-processors preprocess left and right microphone signals to generate band pass signals for each side. A bilateral signal processing arrangement processes the band pass signals in a time sequence of stimulation frames. The signal processing module includes a bilateral channel selection module synchronously selects for each stimulation frame a set of stimulation channels for each side based on spectral content of the band pass signals. Left and right side signal processing submodules process for each stimulation frame a limited subset of each side band pass signals corresponding to the selected stimulation channels to generate electrical stimulation signals.