Implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis
First Claim
1. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, and means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, said energizing means energizing only a single pair of electrodes at any instant of time and operating fast enough such that at least any two electrode pairs can be energized successively within the time interval that allows the respective site stimulations to be perceived as occurring simultaneously.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed an implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis, such as a cochlear prosthesis, which can not only be implemented in single-chip form, but which also permits great flexibility in stimulation strategy and data transmission format. Only sixteen electrodes are required for stimulating fifteen different sites. Each site is stimulated by a biphasic pulse under control of two adjacent electrodes whose polarities are reversed in the middle of the site stimulation cycle. Although the transmission scheme requires a pulse-width modulation format, the precise form of the format can be varied in order to accommodate widely different stimulation strategies. For example, only a single site may be stimulated during each transmission frame or multiple sites may be stimulated during the same frame. Although only one site can be stimulated at any instant of time, the system cycling is so fast that "simultaneous" site stimulations are perceived. The system is designed for minimum power usage, and its operation is fail-safe in that no site may be stimulated for longer than a pre-set time interval.
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Citations
145 Claims
- 1. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, and means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, said energizing means energizing only a single pair of electrodes at any instant of time and operating fast enough such that at least any two electrode pairs can be energized successively within the time interval that allows the respective site stimulations to be perceived as occurring simultaneously.
- 32. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least most of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents stimulation intensities required for said stimulation sites, and means under control of said detecting means for energizing said electrode pairs in accordance with the operation of said detecting means, said energizing means energizing only a single pair of electrodes at any instant of time and operating fast enough such that at least any two electrode pairs can be energized successively within the time interval that allows the respective site stimulations to be perceived as occurring simultaneously.
- 51. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence, and means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, said selecting and energizing means operating fast enough such that at least any two electrode pairs can be selected and energized successively within the time interval that allows the respective stimulations to be perceived as occurring simultaneously
- 73. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes for stimulating a plurality of stimulation sites, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective stimulation sites in a predetermined sequence, means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing said electrodes so that at most a single stimulation site is stimulated at any instant but for selecting and energizing the electrodes such that the stimulation sites are stimulated with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the stimulation sites are identified in a frame of said information signal, and means for shorting said plurality of electrodes responsive to the absence of the identification of a site which requires stimulation.
- 95. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, means for detecting a transmitted signal which represents the manner in which said electrodes are to be energized, means for energizing said electrodes in accordance with the operation of said detecting means, means for deriving a source of potential from a transmitted signal for powering the prosthesis, the potential of said source decreasing gradually following cessation of said transmitted signal and increasing gradually following resumption of said transmitted signal, means for shorting together all of said electrodes, means for detecting when the potential of said source is below a predetermined value, and means responsive to operation of said potential detecting means operating said shorting means while the potential of said source is still high enough to power the prosthesis.
- 110. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, means for detecting a transmitted signal which represents the manner in which said electrodes are to be energized, counter means whose states represent respective stimulation sites, means for advancing said counter means in accordance with successive stimulation sites represented in a transmitted signal, means for energizing said electrodes in accordance with the state of said counter means and the operation of said detecting means, means for deriving a source of potential from a transmitted signal for powering the prosthesis, the potential of said source decreasing gradually following cessation of said transmitted signal and increasing gradually following resumption of said transmitted signal, means for detecting when the potential of said source is below a predetermined value, and means responsive to operation of said potential detecting means for resetting said counter means while the potential of said source is still high enough to power the prosthesis.
- 114. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis in accordance with claim 114 wherein said transmitted signal consists of a pulse-modulated carrier whose pulse envelope represents sequential stimulation sites and the required stimulation intensities therefor.
- 122. An implantable tissue-stimulating prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, means for detecting a transmitted signal which represents the manner in which said electrodes are to be energized, capacitor means, means for deriving a source of potential across said capacitor means from a transmitted signal for powering the prosthesis, means for selectively energizing said electrodes from said potential source in accordance with the operation of said detecting means, means for detecting when the potential across said capacitor means falls below a predetermined value, means responsive to operation to said potential detecting means while the potential of said source is still high enough to power the prosthesis for placing the prosthesis in a predetermined system state, impedance means, and means responsive to said energizing means energizing none of said electrodes for connecting said impedance means across said capacitor means for controlling the discharge of said capacitor means at a predetermined rate.
- 127. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, said information signal representing a stimulation intensity in the form of a pulse width and said information signal being formatted in successive frames with each frame including a plurality of pulses in a predetermined sequence corresponding to respective stimulation sites, said energizing means being capable of energizing successive pairs of electrodes in a predetermined sequence corresponding to the predetermined pulse sequence in each frame, means for shorting together all of said electrodes, means for detecting a pulse width in said information signal which exceeds a predetermined width, and means responsive to operation of said pulse width detecting means for operating said shorting means.
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129. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, means for shorting together all of said electrodes, and means for operating said shorting means in the absence of said detecting means detecting an information signal which represents a requirement for site stimulation.
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130. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, means for shorting together all of said electrodes, means for detecting a represented stimulation intensity in said information signal which exceeds a predetermined intensity, and means responsive to operation of said stimulation intensity detecting means for operating said shorting means.
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131. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitting information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, means for deriving a source of power for said detecting and energizing means from the detected information signal, means for shorting together all of said electrodes, means for detectng a predetermined drop in the level of said source of power, and means responsive to said level drop detecting means for operating said shorting means.
- 132. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes, pairs of which are associated with respective stimulation sites and with at least almost all of said electrodes being included in each of at least two different pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal which represents both stimulation sites and stimulation intensities required therefor, means under control of said detecting means for energizing the pair of electrodes associated with a represented stimulation site with successive opposite-polarity current pulses in accordance with the respective represented stimulation intensity, means for inhibiting the energizations of all of said electrodes, means for determining if the detected information signal is inconsistent with a predetermined format, and means responsive to operation of said determining means for operating said inhibiting means.
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135. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence, means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, means for deriving a source of power for said detecting means and said selecting and energizing means from the transmitted information signal, means for shorting together all of said electrodes, means for detecting a predetermined drop in the level of said source of power, and means responsive to said level drop detecting means for operating said shorting means.
- 136. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence, means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, means for inhibiting the energizations of all of said electrodes, means for determining if the detected information signal is inconsistent with a predetermined format, and means responsive to operation of said determining means for controlling operation of said inhibiting means.
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139. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs;
- means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence;
means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, said selecting and energizing means including a counter which is advanced by detected frame information and whose count selects a respective electrode pair, said counter including a reset state; and
means responsive to said counter being reset for shorting together all of said electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (112, 113, 140, 141, 142)
- means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence;
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143. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence, means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, said selecting and energizing means including a counter which is advanced by detected frame information and whose count selects a respective electrode pair, and means responsive to the detection of the end of a frame for resetting said counter.
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144. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence, means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, said selecting and energizing means including a counter which is advanced by detected frame information and whose count selects a respective electrode pair, and means responsive to the detection of the start of a frame for resetting said counter.
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145. A cochlear prosthesis comprising a plurality of electrodes associated with each other in pairs, means for detecting a transmitted information signal, said information signal being in the form of sequential frames each of which identifies required stimulation intensities for respective paired electrodes in a predetermined sequence, means responsive to said detecting means for selecting and energizing at most a single electrode pair at any instant but for selecting all of the electrode pairs and energizing them with the required respective stimulation intensities in the same sequence in which the electrode pairs are identified in a frame of said information signal, said selecting and energizing means including a counter which is advanced by detected frame information and whose count selects a respective electrode pair, and means responsive to the detection in a frame of said information signal of any required stimulation intensity which exceeds a predetermined intensity for resetting said counter.
Specification