Multichannel cochlear prosthesis with flexible control of stimulus waveforms
US6219580A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 28, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 17, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 28, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N1/36038
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A cochlear implant system includes an implant portion and an external portion. The external portion performs at least the function of sensing acoustic signals and converting such sensed signals to electrical signals. The implant portion performs at least the function of generating electrical stimuli, modulated and classified in response to the sensed acoustic signals, and intended for direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve in accordance with a selected speech processing strategy. Control data defines the selected speech processing strategy, i.e., the pulsatile stimulation pattern to be used by implantable portion. Such control data is transmitted to and stored within the implantable portion of the system only once, when a particular speech processing strategy is selected, thereby eliminating the need to continually resend such speech-processing-defining data over a bandwidth-limited link between the implantable and external portions of the system. The control data that defines the selected speech processing strategy is stored in a stimulation template (also referred to as a "pulse table"), which template or table is stored digitally within the implanted portion of the …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.