Hearing Prosthesis Feedback Control for Cochlea Health Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques for detecting residual hearing and cochlea health changes in hearing prosthesis recipients are limited to clinical settings, often costly and infrequent, leading to delayed identification and potential exacerbation of hearing loss, and lack proactive monitoring capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A hearing prosthesis system with a cochlea health analysis module that measures and analyzes biomarkers in real-time to predict and proactively address changes in cochlea health, employing electro-acoustic stimulation and closed-loop feedback to adjust stimulation parameters and minimize residual hearing loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional clinical techniques are used to detect residual hearing and cochlea health changes, then measurement precision can be achieved, but monitoring frequency is low and cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing prosthesis system performs self-monitoring of cochlea health by continuously measuring biomarkers such as electrical impedance, electrocochleography responses, and evoked potentials. The device uses its own implanted sensors and processing capabilities to detect changes in cochlear status without requiring external clinical equipment, enabling frequent self-assessment at minimal cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors cochlea health biomarkers and provides real-time feedback to adjust stimulation parameters. By measuring electrical impedance and electrocochleography responses during normal operation, the device detects cochlear status changes and automatically modifies its stimulation characteristics to preserve residual hearing, creating a closed-loop monitoring and adjustment system.
2Measurement precision
If conventional clinical techniques are used to monitor cochlea health, then measurement precision is achieved, but time delay in identification occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing prosthesis continuously monitors cochlea health biomarkers during normal auditory operations without interruption. By constantly measuring electrical impedance, electrocochleography responses, and evoked potentials throughout the day, the system maintains uninterrupted surveillance of cochlear status, immediately detecting changes as they occur rather than waiting for periodic clinical visits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects early signs of cochlear deterioration through continuous monitoring of biomarkers such as electrical impedance changes and electrocochleography response variations. By identifying precursors to hearing loss before significant damage occurs, the device enables proactive adjustment of stimulation parameters to prevent further deterioration.
3Ease of operation
If electro-acoustic stimulation is applied to stimulate auditory nerve cells, then hearing perception is improved, but residual hearing may be exacerbated or deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing prosthesis dynamically adjusts its stimulation parameters based on real-time monitoring of cochlear health status. By continuously measuring electrical impedance and electrocochleography responses, the device modifies current levels, pulse widths, and stimulation frequencies to optimize hearing perception while preventing damage to residual acoustic hearing structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes stimulation parameters such as current magnitude, pulse duration, and frequency based on monitored biomarkers. When electrical impedance or electrocochleography responses indicate potential damage to residual hearing, the device automatically adjusts stimulation characteristics to reduce intensity or modify delivery methods, thereby protecting acoustic hair cells while maintaining auditory nerve stimulation effectiveness.
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
Enables continuous, cost-effective monitoring and proactive management of cochlea health outside clinical settings, preserving residual hearing and preventing further deterioration through real-time adjustment of stimulation signals.
Implementation Method 1
a stimulating assembly configured to be implanted in a recipient's cochlea, wherein the stimulating assembly comprises a plurality of stimulating contacts configured to deliver electrical stimulation signals to the cochlea
Implementation Method 2
obtaining, at a hearing prosthesis, one or more biomarkers each associated with a cochlea health of a recipient of the hearing prosthesis; analyzing, at the hearing prosthesis, the one or more biomarkers to identify one or more precursors of a change to the cochlea health
Implementation Method 3
employing the one or more biomarkers as real-time feedback for regulation of stimulation signals which originate from the hearing prosthesis to provide for the long-term preservation of the residual hearing
Data Source
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AI summary
Presented herein are in-situ techniques for monitoring a recipient's cochlea health to proactively identify (i.e., predict) changes to the recipient's cochlea health outside of a clinical setting. The cochlea health monitoring techniques presented herein obtain one or more cochlea health biomarkers associated with a recipient's cochlea health, such the recipient's residual hearing, and analyze these biomarkers to predict that a cochlea health change is likely to occur.