Hydraulic Cochlear Prosthesis Fluid Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with mild sensorineural hearing loss often do not benefit from conventional hearing aids due to chronic inflammation, ear malformations, or other conditions, and are not candidates for cochlear implants, necessitating a more effective hearing prosthesis solution.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic hearing prosthesis system that delivers a therapeutic substance and generates fluid flow to mechanically stimulate the cochlea, evoking a hearing percept by using a drug delivery subsystem and an energy delivery subsystem configured to access the cochlea at a common location, facilitating treatment and sound perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hearing aids are used for mild sensorineural hearing loss, then air conduction transmits acoustic signals to the cochlea, but the device becomes ineffective due to chronic inflammation, ear malformations, or other conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the air conduction mechanical system of conventional hearing aids with a hydraulic system that directly pumps fluid into the cochlea. This substitution bypasses the ear canal and middle ear structures that may be affected by inflammation or malformations, delivering therapeutic fluid directly to the target location where it can mechanically stimulate the cochlear fluid to evoke hearing percepts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a pump as an intermediary device that delivers therapeutic fluid into the cochlea. This intermediary system allows direct fluid injection into the cochlear space, bypassing the problematic external ear structures and enabling effective treatment even when conventional air conduction pathways are compromised by inflammation or anatomical defects.
2Reliability
If a pump delivers fluid into the cochlea to evoke a hearing percept, then mechanical stimulation is achieved, but the cochlear volume must be accommodated to prevent over-pressurization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic pumping action where the pump delivers fluid into the cochlea in controlled cycles. The controller manages the pump operation to provide periodic fluid injection that evokes hearing percepts while allowing pressure equalization between cycles, preventing dangerous over-pressurization of the confined cochlear space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a controller that monitors and regulates pump operation based on cochlear pressure conditions. This feedback mechanism adjusts the pumping parameters to maintain safe pressure levels within the cochlea while still achieving effective mechanical stimulation for hearing perception, preventing over-pressurization through real-time control.
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 system effectively treats and stabilizes hearing impairments, preserving residual hearing and providing a mechanically based hearing percept, even in cases where conventional solutions are ineffective, by delivering therapeutic substances and generating fluid motion within the cochlea.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator assembly in fluid communication with the cochlea, wherein the actuator assembly is configured to move fluid into and out of the cochlea
Implementation Method 2
a pump in fluid communication with the cochlea, wherein the pump is configured to deliver a therapeutic substance into the cochlea
Data Source
AI summary
A prosthesis including a device configured to deliver a therapeutic substance from outside a cochlea to inside the cochlea and configured to evoke a mechanically based hearing percept. In an exemplary embodiment, the device is configured to drive fluid into and out of the cochlea, thereby evoking a hearing percept.