Implantable system for rehabilitation of a hearing disorder

• US 6,198,971 B1
• Filed: 08/06/1999
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Original Assignee: Implex AG Hearing Technology (Cochlear Limited)
• Inventors: Leysieffer, Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Jastrzab, Jeffrey R.
• Application Number:
  US09/369,182
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 607/55-57, 607/59, 607/60, 600/25
• US Class Current: 607/55
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36036 of the outer, middle or inner ear
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36038 Cochlear stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/361 Phantom sensations, e.g. tinnitus
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/55 Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/67 Implantable hearing aids or parts thereof not covered by H04R25/606
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/405 by combining a plurality of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/505 using digital signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/552 Binaural
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/606 acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/75 Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception

Abstract

An at least partially implantable system for rehabilitation of a hearing disorder with an arrangement for processing and/or generation of signals is provided including an implantable processor arrangement with control logic which operates according to an operating program and an implantable storage arrangement for storage of the operating program and of operating parameters. A wireless telemetry unit is provided for data transmission between the implantable part of the system and an external unit. The system also includes a power supply arrangement which supplies individual components of the system with current and a rewritable implantable storage arrangement assigned to the processor arrangement for holding and reproducing the operating program and the operating parameters. At least a part of the operating program and/or of the operating parameters can be modified and/or replaced by data transmitted from the external unit via the telemetry unit.

Claims

1. An at least partially implantable system for rehabilitation of a hearing disorder, comprising:

an arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals including an implantable hearing processor arrangement with control logic which operates according to an operating program and an implantable storage arrangement for storage of the operating program and of operating parameters;

a wireless telemetry means for data transmission between an implantable part of the system and an external unit; and

a power supply arrangement which supplies individual components of the system with current;

wherein said implantable storage arrangement is rewritable and assigned to the processor arrangement for holding and reproducing the operating program and the operating parameters, of the processor arrangement and at least a portion of at least one of the operating program and of the operating parameters is adapted to be at least one of modified and replaced by data transmitted from the external unit via the telemetry means for changing the manner in which the processor arrangement will respond to at least one of a given audiological input and a power management input.

2. The system of claim 1, further including a buffer storage arrangement in which data transmitted from the external unit via the telemetry means is buffered before being relayed to the arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals.

3. The system of claim 2, further including checking logic to check the data stored in the buffer storage arrangement before the data is relayed to the arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals.

4. The system of claim 3, including a microcontroller for controlling the arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the checking logic and the buffer storage arrangement are implemented in the microcontroller.

6. The system of claim 4, further including an implantable working storage arrangement for storage of a working program for the microcontroller, and wherein at least parts of the working program for the microcontroller can be at least one of changed and replaced by data transferred from the external unit via the telemetry means.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said implantable storage arrangement includes at least two storage areas for holding and reproducing at least the operating program.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the buffer storage arrangement includes at least two storage areas for holding and reproducing data transferred from the external unit via the telemetry means.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a preprogrammed read only memory area which cannot be overwritten is assigned to the processor arrangement.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the telemetry means has means for transferring operating parameters between the implantable part of the system and the external unit.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said process arrangement includes a digital arrangement for generation of electrical signals and an arrangement downstream of the digital arrangement for generating stimuli based on the electrical signals generated by the digital arrangement.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said process arrangement comprises a digital arrangement, at least one acoustic sensor, an arrangement for generating stimuli based on processing of the acoustic signals acquired by said at least one acoustic sensor, and a digital arrangement for processing the acoustic signals acquired by means of said at least one acoustic sensor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals includes a preprocessing arrangement for at least one of linear and nonlinear amplification and filtering of signals originating from said at least one acoustic sensor.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the preprocessing arrangement comprises an anti-aliasing filter.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said at least one acoustic sensor includes a plurality of acoustic sensors, and said arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals includes an analog-digital converter connected downstream of each of the plurality of acoustic sensors.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein said arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals includes at least one digital-analog converter connected upstream of the arrangement for generating stimuli.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the arrangement for generating stimuli includes a plurality of stimuli producers to which its own digital-analog converter is connected upstream.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein said arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals includes at least one driver arrangement connected upstream of the digital arrangement for processing of stimuli and is adapted to process the signals delivered by the arrangement for at least one of processing and generating signals according to a mode of stimulation.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the arrangement for generating stimuli has means for producing electrical stimuli and further includes an array of stimulation electrodes for application of electrical cochlea or brain stem stimuli.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the arrangement for generating stimuli comprises at least one electroacoustic transducer.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the arrangement for generating stimuli comprises at least one electromechanical transducer.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the arrangement for generating stimuli comprises at least one piezoelectric transducer.

23. The system of claim 12, wherein the arrangement for generating stimuli comprises at least one electromagnetic transducer.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the power supply arrangement includes a rechargeable electrochemical cell.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a binaural system for rehabilitation of a hearing disorder of both ears and includes two system units, one for each of the ears.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the two system units are essentially identical to one another.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein one system unit is a master unit and the other system unit is designed as the slave unit controlled by the master unit.

28. The system of claim 1, further including a transcutaneously operable reset switch.