Tonotopic implant stimulation
First Claim
1. A method of generating electrode stimulation signals for an implanted electrode array in a bilateral cochlear implant system with interaurally mismatched left and right side implanted electrode arrays, the method comprising:
- processing an acoustic audio signal input with a bank of filters, each filter being associated with a band of audio frequencies, to generate a set of band pass signals, each band pass signal corresponding to the band of frequencies associated with one of the filters and having a filter-associated group delay time;
extracting stimulation information from the band pass signals to generate a set of stimulation event signals defining electrode stimulation signals;
weighting the stimulation event signals based on a tonotopic approach using a weighted matrix of stimulation amplitudes reflecting patient-specific perceptual characteristics, interaural time delays (ITD), and the different filter-associated group delay times to produce a set of bilaterally optimized electrode stimulation signals with ITD directional information and restored tonotopicity to interaurally matched nerve populations; and
developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to electrode contacts in one of the interaurally mismatched electrode arrays.
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Abstract
Electrode stimulation signals are generated for an implanted electrode array. An acoustic audio signal is processed with a bank of filters that are each associated with a band of audio frequencies, and a set of band pass signals is generated with each band pass signal corresponding to the band of frequencies associated with one of the filters. Stimulation information is extracted from the band pass signals to generate a set of stimulation event signals defining electrode stimulation signals. Then the stimulation event signals are weighted with a weighted matrix of stimulation amplitudes reflecting patient-specific perceptual characteristics to produce a set of electrode stimulation signals for electrodes in the implanted electrode array.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of generating electrode stimulation signals for an implanted electrode array in a bilateral cochlear implant system with interaurally mismatched left and right side implanted electrode arrays, the method comprising:
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processing an acoustic audio signal input with a bank of filters, each filter being associated with a band of audio frequencies, to generate a set of band pass signals, each band pass signal corresponding to the band of frequencies associated with one of the filters and having a filter-associated group delay time; extracting stimulation information from the band pass signals to generate a set of stimulation event signals defining electrode stimulation signals; weighting the stimulation event signals based on a tonotopic approach using a weighted matrix of stimulation amplitudes reflecting patient-specific perceptual characteristics, interaural time delays (ITD), and the different filter-associated group delay times to produce a set of bilaterally optimized electrode stimulation signals with ITD directional information and restored tonotopicity to interaurally matched nerve populations; and developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to electrode contacts in one of the interaurally mismatched electrode arrays. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A bilateral cochlear implant system with interaurally mismatched left and right side implanted electrode arrays, the system comprising:
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a preprocessor including a bank of filters, each filter being associated with a band of audio frequencies, for processing an acoustic audio signal input to generate a set of band pass signals, each band pass signal corresponding to the band of frequencies associated with one of the filters and having a filter-associated group delay time; a stimulation pulse generator for extracting stimulation information from the band pass signals to generate a set of stimulation event signals defining electrode stimulation signals; a pulse weighting module for weighting the stimulation event signals based on a tonotopic approach using a weighted matrix of stimulation amplitudes reflecting patient-specific perceptual characteristics, interaural time delays (ITD), and the different filter-associated group delay times to produce a set of electrode stimulation signals with ITD directional information and restored tonotopicity to interaurally matched nerve populations; and a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to electrode contacts in one of the interaurally mismatched electrode arrays. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification