Anatomically customized ear canal hearing apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of making a support for placement on a tissue of a user, the method comprising:
- depositing a material of a vapor on a substrate to form the support, the substrate having a shape profile corresponding to the tissue and wherein the support is separated from the substrate,wherein the shape profile of the substrate corresponds to a shape profile of a tissue surface and wherein the shape profile comprises a portion having a deflection away from the shape profile of the tissue surface so as to provide a deflection in the support away from a surface of the tissue.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention provide improved methods and apparatus suitable for use with hearing devices. A vapor deposition process can be used to make a retention structure having a shape profile corresponding to a tissue surface, such as a retention structure having a shape profile corresponding to one or more of an eardrum, the eardrum annulus, or a skin of the ear canal. The retention structure can be resilient and may comprise an anatomically accurate shape profile corresponding to a portion of the ear, such that the resilient retention structure provides mechanical stability for an output transducer assembly placed in the ear for an extended time. The output transducer may couple to the eardrum with direct mechanical coupling or acoustic coupling when retained in the ear canal with the retention structure.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of making a support for placement on a tissue of a user, the method comprising:
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depositing a material of a vapor on a substrate to form the support, the substrate having a shape profile corresponding to the tissue and wherein the support is separated from the substrate, wherein the shape profile of the substrate corresponds to a shape profile of a tissue surface and wherein the shape profile comprises a portion having a deflection away from the shape profile of the tissue surface so as to provide a deflection in the support away from a surface of the tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification