Cochlear Limited

Edmond D Capcelea

Fysh Dadd

Peter Gibson

Jane Rapsey

James Finlay Patrick

Peter Schuller

Kostas Tsampazis

Bart Volckaerts

Kristien J M Verhoeven

Mirela Pufulescu

Paul Michael Carter

Claudiu G Treaba

Tadeusz Jurkiewicz

Derek Ian Darley

Jim Patrick

Charles R A Leigh

Martin Svehla

Grant Hill

Mile Brkljaca

Sule Kara

Peter Sprada

Joel Fontannaz

Emmanuel Gremion

An implantable component of a medical device, comprising a polymeric surface. The component includes one or more macro-surface features at the polymeric surface having a configuration that, following application of a liquid drug to the surface retains a quantity of the liquid drug adjacent the surface.

Drug retaining surface features in an implantable medical device

A method for manufacturing an electrode assembly. The method comprises: forming a comb having a plurality of electrode contacts, wherein the surface of at least one of the electrode contacts comprises a plurality of indentations such that the effective surface area per area unit of a center region of the at least one electrode contact is larger than the effective surface area per area unit of the of the region of the surface outside the center region; assembling an array of electrode contacts from the comb; molding a carrier member about the assembled array of electrode contacts, wherein a surface of the at least one electrode contact is covered by a layer of the carrier member material; and removing the layer of carrier member material on the surface of the at least one electrode contact.

Manufacturing an electrode assembly having contoured electrode contact surfaces

An implantable stimulation device is disclosed which provides for reduced power consumption when compared with bipolar stimulation and better stimulation performance when compared with monopolar stimulation. Implantable stimulator devices use less power in monopolar stimulation mode than that of bipolar stimulation but stimulation performance is greater when using bipolar stimulation. The device comprises circuitry capable of simultaneous stimulation between a reference electrode and an electrode of a stimulation array and between electrodes of the stimulation array, the ratio of current to the reference electrode and array electrodes being selectable.

Implant stimulation device

A method of forming a braze join between two components is disclosed, in which braze material is introduced into a gap between the two components by capillary action. This assists in reducing flooding. Also disclosed is a component for use with the method, and an assembly produced by the method. In one form, the component comprises a recess or reservoir for storing braze material, in fluid communication with an aperture to allow the braze material to be drawn into the gap by capillary forces. The method may be used in a number of applications including medical devices and more specifically, a cochlear implant.

Braze join

Coating an elongate, uncoated conductive element with a barrier layer to form an insulated conductive element. The insulated conductive element comprises substantially continuously coated elongate sections separated by uncoated gaps which are substantially small relative to the lengths of the coated sections.

Method of forming insulated conductive element having substantially continuously coated sections separated by uncoated gaps

Disclosed is an electrode having a conducting wire and an electrode contact for a medical implant, the electrode being at least partially formed by Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs). Also disclosed are medical implants using the electrodes disclosed, as well as methods of manufacture of the electrode and medical implants. In one particular example, the electrode is formed with a CNT strand forming the conducting wire and a CNT sheet forming the electrode contact.

Electrode array for a cochlear implant

Manufacturing an electrode assembly comprising forming an intermediate assembly comprising a carrier member having one or more electrode contacts embedded therein, the surface of the electrode contacts having a layer of carrier member material thereon; removing the layer of carrier member from the surface of the one or more electrode contacts, wherein a residual amount of the carrier member material remains on the surface of at least one of the electrode contacts; and substantially removing the residual carrier member material from the surface of the at least one electrode contact so as to increase the effective surface area of the at least one electrode contact.

Electrode contact contaminate removal

Coating an elongate, uncoated conductive element with a substantially continuous barrier layer. An uncoated conductive element is around a frame comprising spaced supports. During deposition, the relative position of the conductive element to the frame is adjusted so that all sections of the conductive element are physically separated from the supports for a time that is sufficient to form a desired coating of barrier material on all sections of the conductive element.

Method of forming insulated conductive element having a substantially continuous barrier layer formed via relative motion during deposition

A method of adhering a protective layer applied to a substrate region of an implantable medical device (IMD) to form a covered substrate region. The method includes obtaining the IMD, depositing an intermediate layer on a portion of the substrate region of the IMD such that the intermediate layer binds to the portion of the substrate region to create a modified substrate region, and depositing the protective layer after depositing the intermediate layer onto the intermediate layer and adhering the protective layer to the intermediate layer. In an embodiment of the present invention, this method enhances the sealing characteristics of the protective layer by, for example, reducing the likelihood of delamination of the protective layer from the IMD relative to IMDs prepared by certain other methods.

Sealing of an implantable medical device

A neural-stimulating device for stimulating nerve cells of a recipient is provided. The neural-stimulating device comprises an electromagnetic radiation source configured to generate one or more optical stimulation signals and an electrical stimulation generator configured to generate electrical stimulation signals. The neural-stimulating device also comprises an implantable stimulating assembly configured to be implanted in the recipient, and having disposed thereon an optical contact to deliver the one or more optical stimulation signals to the nerve cells, and an electrical contact to deliver the electric stimulation signals to the nerve cells.

Combined optical and electrical neural stimulation

A cochlear implant is provided. The cochlear implant comprises a stimulator unit configured to generate electrical stimulation signals based on sound processor-encoded signals, and to generate one or more optical stimulation signals, and an implantable stimulating assembly. The implantable stimulating assembly is configured to be implanted into a basal region of a recipient's cochlea such that when the stimulating assembly is fully implanted, a distal end of the assembly extends to the basal turn of the cochlea. The stimulating assembly also comprises: an optical contact to deliver the one or more optical stimulation signals to the cochlea, and an electrical contact to deliver the electric stimulation signals to a basal region of the cochlea so as to cause perception by the recipient of one or more frequency components of the acoustic sound signal.

Optical neural stimulating device having a short stimulating assembly

A housing () for an electronic device, such as an external component of a cochlear implant system that is powered by one or more batteries (). The housing comprises a main body portion and a moveable portion () operatively associated with the main body portion to enable installation and removal of the batteries (). The housing () includes at least one aperture () having a hydrophobic mesh member () configured to be positioned at least partially adjacent one or more of the batteries () when the batteries are installed in the housing ().

Growing community of inventors

Bondi Junction, Australia

Edmond D Capcelea