Ear Canal Microphone Backscatter Link for Hearing Implants
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auditory prostheses using microphones positioned outside the ear canal face issues such as power consumption, performance degradation due to sound transmission through skin tissue, and complexity of surgical implantation, while also lacking natural directional sound detection.
Innovation Solution
An ear canal microphone (ITEC) that utilizes a piezoelectric transducer and backscatter communication to generate sound signals without external power, maintaining natural ear directionality and avoiding skin tissue interference, while wirelessly transmitting data to an implantable excitation device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If microphones are positioned outside the ear canal (on the ear or under the skin), then the device can be implanted or mounted, but power consumption increases and sound transmission degrades due to skin tissue interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the microphone from the external or subcutaneous position and places it directly within the ear canal, eliminating the skin tissue barrier that degrades sound transmission and reduces the need for high power amplification
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a wireless communication intermediary (inductive coupling system) that enables powerless or low-power wireless transmission of audio signals from the ear canal microphone to the implanted excitation device, eliminating the need for high-power batteries
2Device complexity
If microphones are positioned outside the ear canal, then the device structure can be simplified, but directional sound detection capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the spatial dimension by positioning the microphone within the ear canal, utilizing the natural geometry of the ear structure to achieve directional sound detection without adding complex electronic beamforming systems
3Reliability
If a transducer assembly is implanted within the ear canal, then sound detection performance improves, but surgical complexity and implantation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the auditory prosthesis system into separate functional modules: an external wireless communication unit and an implanted excitation device, allowing the ear canal microphone to be a simple, easily implantable component while maintaining high performance
Solution Approach 2:
The implanted excitation device serves multiple functions: receiving wireless audio signals, processing the signals, and providing electrical stimulation to the auditory nerve, reducing the need for separate complex implantation procedures
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
The ITEC microphone provides efficient, low-power sound signal transmission with high bandwidth and low latency, maintaining natural sound directionality and avoiding performance degradation, thus enhancing auditory prosthesis functionality.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one transducer is positioned on or within the housing, and is configured to respond to sound within the ear canal by generating output signals indicative of the sound
Implementation Method 2
The at least one communication circuit has at least one resonance frequency and is positioned on or within the housing. The at least one communication circuit is configured to receive the output signals from the at least one transducer and to modulate the at least one resonance frequency in response to the output signals
Implementation Method 3
The at least one transmission circuit is configured to wirelessly transmit first electromagnetic signals to a transducer assembly positioned within an ear canal of a recipient
Implementation Method 4
The at least one detection circuit is configured to detect second electromagnetic signals radiated from the transducer assembly, the second electromagnetic signals comprising a portion of the first electromagnetic signals reflected from the transducer assembly
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a housing configured to be positioned within an ear canal of a recipient, at least one transducer, and at least one communication circuit. The at least one transducer is configured to respond to sound within the ear canal by generating output signals indicative of the sound. The at least one communication circuit has at least one resonance frequency and is configured to receive the output signals from the at least one transducer and to modulate the at least one resonance frequency in response to the output signals from the at least one transducer.