Cochlear implants and apparatus/methods for improving audio signals by use of frequency-amplitude-modulation-encoding (FAME) strategies
First Claim
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1. A cochlear implant, comprising:
- at least one electrode structured to be placed in a patient'"'"'s cochlea; and
an acoustic signal encoder in communication with the at least one electrode and effective to stimulate the at least one electrode, the acoustic signal encoder comprising;
(a) an amplitude modulation extractor effective to extract amplitude modulations from at least one band of an acoustic signal,(b) a frequency modulation extractor effective to extract frequency modulations from the at least one band of the acoustic signal, and(c) a signal processor effective to compress the amplitude and frequency modulations to produce amplitude and frequency modulated electric signals that are used to stimulate the at least one electrode of the cochlear implant.
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Abstract
A method of improving sound quality of audio signals that are digitally processed includes steps of extracting amplitude and frequency modulations from one or more narrow bands of the audio signal, and filtering and compressing those modulations to produce amplitude and frequency modulated audio signals that are digitally processed to provide an acoustic signal similar to the original audio signal. The methods may be used in auditory prostheses and telecommunication systems.
39 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A cochlear implant, comprising:
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at least one electrode structured to be placed in a patient'"'"'s cochlea; and an acoustic signal encoder in communication with the at least one electrode and effective to stimulate the at least one electrode, the acoustic signal encoder comprising; (a) an amplitude modulation extractor effective to extract amplitude modulations from at least one band of an acoustic signal, (b) a frequency modulation extractor effective to extract frequency modulations from the at least one band of the acoustic signal, and (c) a signal processor effective to compress the amplitude and frequency modulations to produce amplitude and frequency modulated electric signals that are used to stimulate the at least one electrode of the cochlear implant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19)
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17. The cochlear implant of 1 wherein the frequency modulation extractor is effective to calculate an instantaneous phase angle of the at least one band of the acoustic signal at a region of where the amplitude of the acoustic signal is approximately zero.
Specification