Optical Fiber Stimulation Device for Cochlear Implants
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical stimulation devices for medical applications, such as cochlear implants and neuro-stimulation, face limitations in spatial specificity, risk of injury due to electrical interference, and the inability to target specific neural cells, leading to inefficient and potentially harmful treatments.
Innovation Solution
A device that optically encodes stimulation information into multiple wavelength components, multiplexes them, and transversally couples these components out of a primary waveguide to specific stimulation sites, allowing for targeted and efficient optical or electrical stimulation without the need for invasive electrodes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the number of electrodes is increased to improve resolution, then the resolution of the perceived acoustic signal is improved, but the diameter of the wire must be decreased which increases the risk of injury to the cochlea
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces electrical wires with optical fibers for signal transmission. Optical fibers can be made with much smaller diameters than electrical wires while maintaining signal integrity, thereby enabling higher electrode density without increasing mechanical trauma risk to the cochlea. The optical system uses light modulation to carry electrical signal information, eliminating the need for thick electrical conductors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the transmission medium from electrical to optical domain. By converting electrical signals to optical signals for transmission through the cochlea, the system achieves finer spatial resolution with thinner fibers, reducing mechanical injury risk while maintaining or improving signal resolution.
2Ease of operation
If electrical stimulation is used to stimulate specific neural cells, then the stimulation can be delivered, but spatial specificity and targeting of specific neural cells is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by enabling independent optical addressing of individual electrodes along the optical fiber. Each electrode can be selectively activated by modulating the light signal at its specific location, allowing precise spatial targeting of neural cells. This local control capability is achieved through optical encoding techniques that assign unique addresses to each electrode position.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the optical signal into multiple wavelength components, with each wavelength corresponding to a specific electrode. This segmentation allows independent control and addressing of each electrode along the fiber, enabling precise spatial targeting of different neural cell populations without electrical interference between adjacent electrodes.
3Reliability
If electrical stimulation is used, then stimulation can be delivered, but electrical interference and potential harm to neurons under chronic use occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes optical fields for electrical fields in the stimulation delivery system. By using light to carry stimulation information to photo-sensitive electrodes or directly to optically-responsive neural tissue, the system eliminates the harmful effects of direct electrical current passage through neural tissue, including electrical interference, heating, and chronic damage to neurons.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces light as an intermediary medium between the external signal source and the neural tissue. Instead of applying electrical current directly to neurons, the system uses optically-encoded signals that are converted to electrical stimulation only at the electrode-tissue interface, reducing overall electrical interference and improving safety for chronic use.
4Reliability
If a probe delivers optical energy to target neural tissue, then optical stimulation is achieved, but the probe must be positioned at a distance away from the target tissue which reduces efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests multiple optical signals at different wavelengths within a single optical fiber. By multiplexing multiple wavelength components carrying independent stimulation channels through one fiber, the system achieves efficient delivery of optical energy to multiple target sites simultaneously, eliminating the need for multiple separate probes and improving transmission efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the optical fiber universal by enabling it to carry multiple independent stimulation signals simultaneously through wavelength division multiplexing. A single optical fiber can address multiple electrodes at different positions and wavelengths, providing multi-functional capability that improves transmission efficiency compared to dedicated probes for each target site.
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
This approach enhances transmission efficiency, reduces the risk of injury, achieves higher resolution, and enables targeted and timed delivery of treatments through photoactivation of biochemical compounds or cellular functions, improving the specificity and safety of medical stimulation procedures.
Implementation Method 1
a primary waveguide having an input end operationally connected to the multiplexing arrangement for receiving the encoded light signal, a light-guiding axis for guiding the encoded light signal therealong
Implementation Method 2
outcoupling means provided at the output end of the primary waveguide for transversally coupling each of the wavelength components of the encoded light signal out of the primary waveguide at different output positions along the light-guiding axis
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention concerns a device and method for transmitting multiple optically-encoded stimulation signals to multiple stimulation sites, especially cell locations. The device uses a primary optical fiber to transmit specific wavelength components of an encoded light signal to output positions along the fiber where they are coupled out of the primary fiber to stimulation sites via electrodes for electrical stimulation of the sites or optical windows and/or secondary optical fibers for photo-stimulation of sites.