Cochlear Limited

The University of Melbourne

The Bionic Ear Institute

Brett Anthony Swanson

Phyu Phyu Khing

Peter John Blamey

Hugh Joseph McDermott

James Finlay Patrick

Graeme Milbourne Clark

Bonar Dickson

Stefan Jozef Mauger

Zachary Mark Smith

Presented herein are binaural hearing prosthesis systems that are configured to provide a recipient with pitch cues at both ears, while preserving/retaining binaural timing cues.

Synchronized pitch and timing cues in a hearing prosthesis system

Disclosed embodiments include systems and methods of configuring, e.g., a hearing prosthesis comprising a beamforming microphone array having two or more microphones. Some embodiments include (i) storing a plurality of sets of beamformer coefficients in memory, where each set of beamformer coefficients corresponds to one of a plurality of zones on a recipient's head, and (ii) configuring the hearing prosthesis with a set of beamformer coefficients that corresponds to the zone on the recipient's head where the beamforming microphone array is located. Other embodiments include determining a set of beamformer coefficients based on magnitude and phase differences between microphones of the beamforming array, where the magnitude and phase differences are determined from a plurality of head related transfer function measurements for the microphones.

Neutralizing the effect of a medical device location

The present application discloses systems and methods for operating a stimulation prosthesis that contains a command module and a stimulator module that communicate by a data link. The stimulation prosthesis has at least two operating states: a configuration state and a stimulation state. In one embodiment, the stimulation prosthesis may use a communication protocol that is suitable for the current operating state. The risk of unintended transitions between the operating states due to data transmission errors is substantially eliminated. And in accordance with another embodiment, in addition to switching stimulation strategies, the stimulation prosthesis may also switch stimulation data formats to a format that is optimized for the new stimulation strategy.

Stimulation prosthesis with configurable data link

Techniques for addressing impulse sounds in an auditory prosthesis. The auditory prosthesis comprises a sound processor that is configured to convert received sound signals into output signals for use in generating stimulation for delivery to a recipient of the auditory prosthesis. The sound processor comprises an impulse-aware gain system that is configured to generate a time-variable gain for the application to the audio signal. The time-variable gain applied to the audio signal is dependent on both a level of the audio signal and the presence or absence of impulse sounds in the audio signal.

Impulse-aware sound processing

A binaural hearing device adapted to assist a recipient to segregate sounds from local and remote sources. Segregation can be achieved with two environmental microphones that are configured to mix right/left ambient sounds and divert them to the ear on one side of the recipient.

Binaural segregation of wireless accessories

A computer-implemented method comprising: determining one or more features of a subject signal; revising one or more control signals on the basis of the one or more features; modifying a level of the subject signals based on the control signals. At least one of the features is determined by: comparing a given one of the subject signals against a boundary signal to produce a corresponding given boundary comparison signal; and summarizing the behavior of the given boundary comparison signal over a time interval.

Feature-based level control using loudness growth functions

An apparatus for processing an input sound signal, the apparatus including: gain circuitry configured to control a gain based on a plurality of respective sub-signals of the input sound signal; and an amplification apparatus configured to adjust the amplification of all the plurality of amplitudes based on the common gain.

Post-filter common-gain determination

Feature-based level control

An apparatus for processing an input sound signal, the apparatus including: gain circuitry configured to control a gain based on a plurality of respective sub-signals of the input sound signal; and an amplification apparatus configured to adjust the amplification of all the plurality of amplitudes based on the gain.

The sound processor and method uses a model of basilar membrane motion to select stimuli, based upon the predicted motion which the acoustic signal presented would produce in an acoustically excited normally hearing cochlea. The filter; used, in contrast to single channel per electrode approaches, cover multiple channels and overlap with each other. Consequently the stimuli presented produce a neural excitation pattern which approximates the spatio-temporal travelling wave observed on the basilar membrane in an acoustically excited normally hearing cochlea. Preferably, the predicted electrode stimuli are based upon the instantaneous predicted amplitude of the electrode location.

Sound processor for a cochlear implant

In one aspect of the invention, a cochlear implant constructed and arranged to successively generate stimulation signals each comprising at least one stimulus pulse such that said successive stimulation signals incrementally build a neural excitation pattern that accurately reflects a received sound. In one embodiment, each said successive stimulation signal is generated based on the cumulative effect of all previous stimulus pulses, thereby compensating for finite spatial spreading of individual stimulus pulses as well as for the temporal integration of the neural excitation pattern along the neural pathways.

Incremental stimulation sound processor

A method and apparatus for detecting an envelope of an audio signal, and a method and apparatus for enhancing the pitch cue of an audio signal perceived by a cochlear implant patient where the audio signal is processed and input to an implant device of the recipient. The methods and apparatuses use techniques such as filtering, rectifying, detecting peak values, sampling, resetting, comparing and multiplying various signals to detect the envelope or enhance the pitch cue of the audio signal.

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Meadowbank, Australia

Brett Anthony Swanson