Cochlear implant
First Claim
1. An implantable unit of a cochlear implant system comprising:
- a hermetically sealed housing having disposed therein a power source configured to provide power to said implantable unit;
a microphone configured to detect sounds and to output acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds; and
a processor configured to convert said acoustic signals into at least one stimulation signal representative of said detected sounds;
an electrode array configured to provide electrical stimulation to an implantee'"'"'s auditory nerve based on said stimulation signals; and
a deactivation system configured to monitor acoustic signals output by said microphone and to trigger shutdown of said electrical stimulation in response to detection of a predetermined acoustic signal.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A totally implantable cochlear implant system forming a single implantable unit (40). The unit (40) has an implantable power source (43) that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit (40). The unit (40) also has an on-board microphone (42) that detects external sounds, such as speech, and outputs acoustic signals representative of the detected sounds. The unit further includes speech processor circuitry (44) that directly receives the acoustic signals from the microphone (42) and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds. An electrode array (20) suitable for insertion of the cochlea (12) of an implantee receives the stimulation signals and transmits electrical stimulations to the implantee'"'"'auditory nerve (9).
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. An implantable unit of a cochlear implant system comprising:
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a hermetically sealed housing having disposed therein a power source configured to provide power to said implantable unit;
a microphone configured to detect sounds and to output acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds; and
a processor configured to convert said acoustic signals into at least one stimulation signal representative of said detected sounds;an electrode array configured to provide electrical stimulation to an implantee'"'"'s auditory nerve based on said stimulation signals; and a deactivation system configured to monitor acoustic signals output by said microphone and to trigger shutdown of said electrical stimulation in response to detection of a predetermined acoustic signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A cochlear implant system having an implantable unit configured to function with an external device, wherein:
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said implantable unit comprises; a hermetically sealed housing comprising; a power source that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit; a microphone that detects sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds; and a processor configured to directly receive said acoustic signals and to convert said acoustic signals into at least one stimulation signal representative of the detected sounds; an electrode array suitable for insertion in the cochlea of an implantee, the array once inserted being adapted to provide electrical stimulation to the implantee'"'"'s auditory nerve based on said stimulation signals; and an antenna coil suitable for implantation in the implantee; and a deactivation system configured to monitor acoustic signals output by said microphone and to trigger shutdown of electrical stimulation of the implantee'"'"'s auditory nerve on detection of a predetermined type of acoustic signal; and wherein said external device comprises; an external power source; an external microphone that detects sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds; an external processor configured to receive said acoustic signals of said external microphone and to generate a coded signal representative of the detected sounds; and an external antenna coil adapted to inductively couple with said antenna coil of the implantable unit and to provide a radio frequency link between said implantable unit and said external device; wherein said coded signal output by said external processor is transmitted to said electrode array through said radio frequency link. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A totally implantable cochlear implant system having an implantable unit comprising:
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a hermetically sealed housing comprising; a power source that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit; a microphone that detects sounds and outputs acoustic signals representative of said detected sounds; and a processor configured to directly receive said acoustic signals and to convert said acoustic signals into at least one stimulation signal representative of the detected sounds; an electrode array suitable for insertion in the cochlea of an implantee, the array once inserted being adapted to provide electrical stimulation to the implantee'"'"'s auditory nerve based on said stimulation signals; and a deactivation system, wherein a first operation of said deactivation system stops electrical stimulation of the cochlea by said electrode array and a subsequent operation of said deactivation system results in complete shutdown of said totally implantable cochlear implant system. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification