Bone Conduction Hearing Aid Mastoid Cavity Anchoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing direct bone conduction hearing aids face issues with skin infections due to skin-penetrating abutments, weak anchoring in the mastoid cavity, and aesthetic and functional drawbacks from implantable solutions, including interference between vibrators and energy transmission coils.
Innovation Solution
A direct bone conduction hearing aid system with an implanted vibrator unit in the mastoid cavity, a screw-shaped osseointegrating anchoring fixture on the lateral skull surface, and separate energy-receiving and vibrator units to prevent interference, along with flexible cable connections and optional external battery or transmitter units for power management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a skin-penetrating abutment is used to connect the vibrator to the skull bone, then the vibrator can be firmly connected to transmit vibrations directly, but the patient experiences skin infections due to the permanent skin penetration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the skin-penetrating abutment from the system entirely. Instead, the vibrator unit is positioned in the mastoid cavity and connected to the skull bone through a mounting arm and anchoring fixture that does not penetrate the skin, thereby eliminating the infection risk while maintaining vibration transmission capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into separate components: the vibrator unit housed in the mastoid cavity, the mounting arm extending to the skull bone, and the anchoring fixture secured laterally. This segmentation allows the vibrator to be firmly connected for reliable transmission without requiring skin penetration
2Volume of moving object
If the anchoring fixture is placed deep in the mastoid cavity with the vibrator unit, then the vibrator can be positioned close to the cochlea, but the anchoring becomes weak due to soft bone and difficult to access for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring fixture is repositioned from the deep mastoid cavity to a lateral skull bone surface, changing the spatial dimension of anchoring. This provides access to harder bone for stronger anchoring while maintaining vibrator positioning through the mounting arm connection
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the anchoring function from the vibrator housing by using a distinct mounting arm that extends from the vibrator unit to the anchoring fixture. This allows the anchoring to be optimally positioned laterally while the vibrator remains in the mastoid cavity
3Device complexity
If the vibrator and energy transmission coil are placed in the same implantable unit, then the device structure is simplified, but the vibrator interferes with the inductive energy transmission function
Solution Approach 1:
The implantable system is segmented into separate functional units: the vibrator unit housed in the mastoid cavity and the energy-receiving unit with the inductive coil positioned separately. This physical separation eliminates electromagnetic interference between the vibrator and coil while maintaining functional integration through external connection
Solution Approach 2:
The energy transmission coil is extracted from the vibrator unit and placed in a separate implantable unit. This removes the source of interference from the vibrator while preserving the simplified structure benefit through modular design
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides a safe, aesthetic, and reliable hearing aid system with improved anchoring ease, reduced risk of skin infections, and efficient energy transmission, while maintaining the vibrator's frequency characteristics and minimizing visible device components.
Implementation Method 1
Bone conduction is the principle of transmitting vibrations via the skull bone to the inner ear, i.e. the cochlea. For a bone conduction hearing aid the vibrations are transmitted through the skull bone
Implementation Method 2
the vibrator, which is usually an electromagnetic vibrator
Implementation Method 3
the inductive energy transmission coil since it may interfere with the function of the inductive energy transmission
Data Source
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AI summary
A direct bone conduction hearing aid system for generating direct bone conduction vibrations is disclosed. The direct bone conduction hearing aid system has a vibrator that is placed in an implanted vibrator unit and an implanted energy-receiving unit that has an energy-receiving inductive coil. A vibrator supply cable is connecting the implanted energy-receiving unit to the implanted vibrator unit. A mounting arm is connecting the implanted vibrator unit with an anchoring fixture that is anchored to the skull bone through the skull bone surface. The implanted vibrator unit is positioned in the mastoid cavity. The mounting arm is positioned laterally to the implanted vibrator unit and the bone fixation portion of the anchoring fixture.