Cochlear Limited

Hearworks Pty, Limited

Andy L Zhang

Peter Misha Seligman

David K Money

Tony M Nygard

Ibrahim Ibrahim

Robert Cowan

Anthony Klein

An implantable sound pickup system. The system comprises an intracochlear acoustic sensor implantable in a recipient's cochlea comprising: piezoelectric element configured to detect pressure waves in the perilymph of the cochlea when the acoustic sensor is at least partially implanted in the cochlea, and to produce electrical signals corresponding to the detected pressure waves.

Implantable acoustic sensor

A totally implantable cochlear implant system forming a single implantable unit (). The unit () has an implantable power source () that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit (). The unit () also has an on board microphone () that detects external sounds, such as speech, and outputs acoustic signals representative of the detected sounds. The unit further includes speech processor circuitry () that directly receives the acoustic signals from the microphone () and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds. An electrode array () suitable for insertion of the cochlea () of an implantee receives the stimulation signals and transmits electrical stimulations to the implantee's auditory nerve ().

Cochlear implant with deactivation system

An implantable sound pickup system. The system comprises an intracochlear acoustic sensor implantable in a recipient's cochlea comprising: an elongate core conductor, and a piezoelectric element disposed on the surface of the core conductor configured to detect pressure waves in the perilymph of the cochlea when the acoustic sensor is at least partially implanted in the cochlea, and to produce electrical signals corresponding to the detected pressure waves.

A totally implantable cochlear implant system forming a single implantable unit (). The unit () has an implantable power source () that provides the power requirements of the implantable unit (). The unit () also has an on-board microphone () that detects external sounds, such as speech, and outputs acoustic signals representative of the detected sounds. The unit further includes speech processor circuitry () that directly receives the acoustic signals from the microphone () and converts the signals into stimulation signals representative of the detected sounds. An electrode array () suitable for insertion of the cochlea () of an implantee receives the stimulation signals and transmits electrical stimulations to the implantee'auditory nerve ().

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East Melbourne, Australia

Andy L Zhang