Means for implanting a device in the canalis cochlearis
US6306168A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 4, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 4, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N1/36038
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A new surgical method and tools are described for the implantation of electrode arrays into the canalis cochlearis of profoundly deaf persons. Access to the canalis cochlearis is via the bony exterior ear canal and the middle ear, rather than the conventional route of drilling a cleft through the mastoid region posterior to the ear. Preferably entry to the canalis cochlearis is at a tangential angle to the curve of the basal turn. A template is described for landmarking the site for tangentially drilling into the canalis cochlearis comprising a plate shaped to be positioned by reference to the round window of the middle ear and the oval window. A device for holding open the field of view for the surgeon during implantation comprises elongated funnels.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.