Piezoelectric Bellows Transducer for Round Window Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vibration transducers for implantable hearing aids, particularly those targeting moderately severe and severe sensorineural hearing loss, face challenges such as poor low-frequency vibration efficiency, susceptibility to external magnetic fields, and difficulty in precisely controlling frequency characteristics, which can lead to safety issues and inefficiencies in transmitting vibration energy to the cochlea.
Innovation Solution
A vibration transducer design featuring a bellows member with crests and troughs, capable of forming longitudinal wave vibrations, is implanted near the round window, allowing for efficient vibration transmission without relying on auditory ossicles and enabling precise control of frequency characteristics through adjustable pitch and size configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If FMT is installed into the round window, then the transducer can be used in cases where auditory ossicles are destroyed, but vibration efficiency is poor at low frequency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the transducer by using a piezoelectric element instead of a magnetic one, and by designing a specific coupling structure with the round window. This allows the transducer to achieve better low-frequency vibration efficiency while maintaining its ability to function without auditory ossicles.
2Adaptability or versatility
If FMT is installed into the round window, then the transducer can operate without auditory ossicles, but the transducer is affected by external magnetic fields
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the magnetic field-based FMT system with a piezoelectric transducer system that uses electrical-to-mechanical energy conversion. This substitution eliminates the susceptibility to external magnetic fields while maintaining the capability to operate without auditory ossicles.
3Reliability
If MET transducer is used to vibrate the round window, then the transducer has flat frequency characteristic, but the transducer has large scale making it difficult to secure range of vision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing a transducer with concentrated vibration energy at the coupling point with the round window. The piezoelectric element generates localized vibrations that are efficiently transmitted to the round window, achieving flat frequency response without requiring a large overall transducer size.
4Productivity
If vibration transducer is designed for large vibration displacement, then hearing aid performance is improved, but the transducer requires high power operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the piezoelectric effect, which involves a direct coupling between electrical and mechanical energy domains. This allows for efficient energy conversion where electrical energy is directly transformed into mechanical vibration displacement without the intermediate steps required in magnetic systems, reducing power consumption while maintaining large vibration displacement capability.
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 solution enhances vibration displacement and transmission efficiency, maintains sealability, and ensures effective vibration across various frequency bands, addressing limitations in existing transducers and improving hearing aid performance for moderately severe and severe hearing loss cases.
Implementation Method 1
a vibration transducer including a bellows member configured for applying longitudinal wave vibration to auditory tissue of a body
Implementation Method 2
a bellows member configured for applying longitudinal wave vibration to auditory tissue of a body
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a vibration transducer and an implantable hearing aid device. In one embodiment, the implantable hearing aid device includes a signal processing part implantable in a subject, the signal processing part processing a signal from a microphone to output a sound signal, a sound transmission tube configured for transmitting the sound signal to a round window of the subject, and a bellows member disposed at an end side of the sound transmission tube to transmit vibration due to the sound signal to the round window. In other embodiment, the implantable hearing aid device includes a signal processing part implantable in a subject, the signal processing part processing a signal from a microphone to output an electrical signal, a vibration generation part configured for receiving the electrical signal to generate vibration, and a bellows member disposed at an end side of the vibration generation part to transmit the vibration to a round window of the subject. In some embodiments, the vibration generation part includes a magnet member or a piezoelectric vibration member to vibrate in accordance with the electrical signal.