Cochlear implant stimulation with low frequency channel privilege
First Claim
1. An implantable stimulation arrangement for generating electrode stimulation signals for stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the arrangement comprising:
- a preprocessor filter bank for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies;
an information extractor for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes;
a pulse selector for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals in a recurring stimulation cycle based on the electrode stimulation groups based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue, wherein for at least one stimulation group the pulse selector varies over time which specific stimulation electrodes are activated in each stimulation cycle; and
a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to the stimulation electrodes based on patient specific factors.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for activating stimulation electrodes in cochlear implant electrode is described. A preprocessor filter bank processes an input acoustic audio signal to generate band pass signals that each represent an associated band of audio frequencies. An information extractor extracts stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to corresponding electrode stimulation groups that each contain one or more stimulation electrodes, and generates a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes. A pulse selector selects a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue.
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Citations
69 Claims
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1. An implantable stimulation arrangement for generating electrode stimulation signals for stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the arrangement comprising:
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a preprocessor filter bank for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; an information extractor for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; a pulse selector for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals in a recurring stimulation cycle based on the electrode stimulation groups based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue, wherein for at least one stimulation group the pulse selector varies over time which specific stimulation electrodes are activated in each stimulation cycle; and a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to the stimulation electrodes based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer program product for use on a computer system for activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code including:
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program code for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; program code for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; program code for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals in a recurring stimulation cycle based on the electrode stimulation groups based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue wherein for at least one stimulation group the program code for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals varies over time which specific stimulation electrodes are activated in each stimulation cycle; and program code for developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant electrode, the method comprising:
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processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals in a recurring stimulation cycle based on the electrode stimulation groups based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue, wherein for at least one stimulation group, selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals includes varying over time which specific stimulation electrodes are activated in each stimulation cycle; and developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An implantable stimulation arrangement for generating electrode stimulation signals for stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the arrangement comprising:
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a preprocessor filter bank for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; an information extractor for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group based on a group pulse rate defined for each electrode stimulation group to define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; a pulse selector for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to the stimulation electrodes based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A computer program product for use on a computer system for activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code including:
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program code for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; program code for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group based on a group pulse rate defined for each electrode stimulation group to define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; program code for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and program code for developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method of activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant electrode, the method comprising:
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processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group based on a group pulse rate defined for each electrode stimulation group to define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An implantable stimulation arrangement for generating electrode stimulation signals for stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the arrangement comprising:
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a preprocessor filter bank for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; an information extractor for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; a pulse selector for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses time-constant channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to the stimulation electrodes based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49)
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50. A computer program product for use on a computer system for activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code including:
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program code for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; program code for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; program code for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses time-constant channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and program code for developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53)
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54. A method of activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant electrode, the method comprising:
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processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that defines electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses time-constant channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57)
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58. An implantable stimulation arrangement for generating electrode stimulation signals for stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the arrangement comprising:
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a preprocessor filter bank for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; an information extractor for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; a pulse selector for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses time-varying channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to the stimulation electrodes based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61)
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62. A computer program product for use on a computer system for activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code including:
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program code for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; program code for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; program code for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses time-varying channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and program code for developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65)
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66. A method of activating stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant electrode, the method comprising:
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processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that defines electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals based on a pulse weighting function that uses time-varying channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue; and developing the electrode stimulation signals into the set of output electrode pulses based on patient specific factors. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69)
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Specification