Extra-cochlear Hearing Aid Implant with Penetrating Prongs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current intra-cochlear and extra-cochlear hearing aid implants face challenges such as trauma to cochlear anatomy, limited tonal specificity, and inefficient electrical stimulation due to their design and surgical approaches, which hinder effective stimulation of residual neural elements in patients with sensorineural hearing loss.
Innovation Solution
An extra-cochlear hearing aid implant with an electrode pad and hollow tubules designed for minimal invasive placement on the cochlear endosteum, featuring an array of penetrating prongs and tubules that conduct electrical stimuli and facilitate fluid delivery to stimulate ganglion cells with improved precision and reduced trauma, using a comb-like orientation and extended soft surgery technique to position the implant optimally.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If intra-cochlear implant electrodes are inserted into the cochlea, then electrical stimulation of ganglion cells is achieved, but trauma to cochlear anatomy and destruction of internal structures occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the electrode array from the intra-cochlear space and places it in the extra-cochlear space, specifically on the lateral aspect of the cochlea. This removes the source of trauma (the electrode insertion process) while maintaining the ability to stimulate ganglion cells through the cochlear bone and membranes without destroying internal structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces the cochlear bone and membranes as intermediaries between the external electrode array and the internal ganglion cells. Instead of directly inserting electrodes into the cochlear interior, the electrical signals travel through the cochlear bone and membranes to reach the ganglion cells, eliminating the need for traumatic internal insertion.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If electrode array is placed external to the cochlea, then trauma to cochlear anatomy is minimized, but electrical stimulation efficiency decreases due to distance from ganglion cells
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates local quality by positioning the electrode array specifically on the lateral aspect of the cochlea where the cochlear bone and membranes are thinnest and closest to the ganglion cells. This localized positioning optimizes electrical signal transmission efficiency while maintaining the extra-cochlear placement advantage of minimizing trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a one-dimensional approach (inserting electrodes deep into the cochlear interior) to a two-dimensional approach (placing electrodes on the lateral surface of the cochlea). This dimensional change allows the electrode array to be positioned optimally relative to the ganglion cells while avoiding internal trauma.
3Productivity
If conventional hearing aids amplify sound signals, then sound energy reaches the cochlea, but compensation for hearing loss is insufficient when few hair cells are viable
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical/acoustic amplification system (conventional hearing aids that amplify sound waves) with an electrical stimulation system. Instead of amplifying acoustic signals and relying on surviving hair cells to transduce them, the device directly generates electrical impulses that stimulate the auditory nerve ganglion cells, bypassing the need for functional hair cells.
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 implant achieves more precise tonal differentiation and sound understanding by positioning stimulating electrodes closer to residual ganglion cells, minimizing trauma and anatomical disruption, while the fluid delivery system promotes nerve cell growth and efficient electrical transmission.
Implementation Method 1
The prongs are conductive members that are provided for conducting an electrical stimulus to a distal end of the prong
Implementation Method 2
Hollow tubules for introducing and removing fluid into the interior of the cochlea
Data Source
AI summary
An extra-cochlear hearing aid implant is characterized by a pad having a plurality of electrode prongs that extend therefrom and which are adapted to provide an electrical stimulus to hearing cells within the cochlea. The electrode pad is adapted to be placed onto endosteum overlying the cochlea in an “extended soft surgery” technique. The prongs are configured to pierce the endosteum and extend into the cochlea. In one form, the extra-cochlear hearing aid implant also includes hollow tubules that extend from the pad and which are adapted to supply and withdraw neurotrophic proteins and other materials in a fluid into and from the cochlea, and also to provide electrical stimulus to the hearing cells.