Symphonix Devices, Inc.

Vibrant Med-el Hearing Technology Gmbh

Med-el Elektromedizinische Geraete Gmbh

Other

Vibrant Med-e1 Hearing Technology Gmbh

Symphonix

Vibrant Med-el

Vibrx, Inc.

Med-el Elektro-medizinische Gerate Gesellschaft M.b.h.

Geoffrey R Ball

Bob H Katz

Eric M Jaeger

Christopher Allen Julian

Craig E Mar

Peter Lampacher

Duane E Tumlinson

Tim Dietz

Timothy G Dietz

August C Pombo

John D Salisbury

James M Culp

Wolfgang Amrhein

Gunther Weidenholzer

Martin Zimmerling

Erwin Hochmair

Thomas Lenarz

Kenneth J Dormer

Gordon L Richard

Jack V Hough

Markus Nagl

Michael Santek

Marcus Schmidt

Bernhard Jamnig

Wyndham Robertson, Iii

Dan Wallace

Bruce D Arthur

Alexander Hofer

A middle ear implant system includes a disc-shape vibration surface that is configured for implantation within skin lying over skull bone of a patient, with the disc-shape vibration surface parallel to an outer surface of the skin and to the skull bone so that sound vibrations striking the outer surface of the skin create corresponding vibrations in the disc-shape vibration surface within the skin. A rigid ossicle connector has a proximal end connected to the disc-shape vibration surface and a distal end connected to an ossicle in the middle ear of the patient so that vibrations of the disc-shape vibration surface are mechanically coupled to the ossicle for perception by the patient as sound.

Passive hearing implant

An external component for a bone conduction hearing implant is described. An external housing is fixedly attached on the skin of a hearing implant patient over an implanted bone conduction hearing transducer. An electromagnetic drive coil arrangement is fixed within the external housing for conducting electrical current to develop electromagnetic drive signals. An attachment magnet arrangement is suspended within the external housing by a flexible spring arrangement and magnetically coupled to the drive coil arrangement and to a corresponding implant magnet arrangement within the implanted bone conduction transducer. The electromagnetic drive signals magnetically interact with the attachment magnet arrangement which reacts by vibrating on the spring arrangement and magnetically interacting with the implant magnet arrangement to generate a bone conduction vibration signal by the implanted bone conduction hearing transducer for perception by the patient as sound.

Electromagnetic bone conduction hearing device

A floating mass transducer has a cylindrical transducer housing within which is a cylindrical transducer magnet arrangement with a magnetic pair of: i. an inner rod magnet disposed along the cylinder axis with a first magnetic field direction, and ii. an outer annular magnet surrounding the inner rod magnet along the cylinder axis with a second magnetic field direction opposite to the first magnetic field direction. Current flow through the drive coils creates a coil magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic fields of the transducer magnet arrangement to create vibration in the transducer magnet which is coupled by the transducer housing to the middle ear hearing structure for perception as sound. In addition, the opposing magnetic fields of the transducer magnet arrangement cancel each other to minimize their combined magnetic field and thereby minimize magnetic interaction of the transducer magnet arrangement with any external magnetic field.

MRI safe actuator for implantable floating mass transducer

An electro-magnetic transducer assembly includes a first component. The first component includes at least one magnet, and optionally a first attachment mechanism for attaching the first component to a vibrating structure. A coil assembly includes a second attachment mechanism for removably attaching the coil assembly to the first component. The coil assembly further includes at least one coil that produces a signal representative of the vibration of the at least one magnet. An output port provides the signal.

Transducer for stapedius monitoring

An implantable hearing prosthesis for a recipient patient is described. An implantable signal transducer includes one or more electromagnetic drive coils for receiving an electrical stimulation signal and a cylindrical transducer magnet arrangement including an inner disk magnet having a first magnetic field direction, and an outer annular magnet surrounding the inner rod magnet and having a second magnetic field direction opposite to the first magnetic field direction. Current flow through the one or more electromagnetic drive coils from the electrical stimulation signal creates a coil magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic fields of the transducer magnet arrangement to create vibration in the transducer magnet which is developed by the signal transducer as a mechanical stimulation signal for audio perception by the patient.

An implantable floating mass transducer is described for a hearing implant system in an implant patient. A cylindrical transducer housing contains a cylindrical inner mass magnet having an inner magnetic field with a first field direction. One or more signal drive coils are on the outer housing surface for conducting a transducer drive signal current to produce a signal magnetic field that interacts with the inner magnetic field to create vibration of the inner mass magnet which is coupled by the transducer housing to the internal hearing structure for sound perception by the implant patient. A ring-shape outer offset magnet is positioned around the outer housing surface with an outer magnetic field having a second field direction opposite to the first field direction so as to offset the inner magnetic field to minimize their combined magnetic field and thereby minimize magnetic interaction of the transducer with any external magnetic field.

Implantable floating mass transducer of a hearing implant system

An implantable hearing prosthesis for a recipient patient is described. An implantable receiving coil transcutaneously receives an externally generated communication data signal. An implantable signal processor is in communication with the receiving coil and converts the communication data signal into an electrical stimulation signal. An implantable transducer housing is fixedly attachable to skull bone of the patient. An implantable drive transducer is in communication with the signal processor and removably engageable with the transducer housing for applying to the transducer housing a mechanical vibration signal based on the electrical stimulation signal for audio perception by the patient.

Skull vibrational unit

An implantable magnet arrangement is described for a hearing implant in a recipient patient. A pair of implant magnets are fixable in a common plane beneath the skin of the patient to underlying skull bone. At least one of the magnets is adapted to transform a magnetic drive signal from an external signal drive coil into a corresponding mechanical stimulation signal for delivery by bone conduction of the skull bone as an audio signal to the cochlea. Each implant magnet includes a pair of internal magnets lying in parallel planes which meet along a common junction with repelling like magnetic polarities facing towards each other, and the magnetic polarities of each implant magnet are reversed from each other.

Magnet arrangement for bone conduction hearing implant

An external component for a hearing implant is described. An external housing contains an attachment magnet configured to magnetically connect with an implant magnet of an implanted signal transducer. A pair of external electromagnetic drive coils within the external housing are adjacent to the attachment magnet for conducting electrical current to develop magnetic drive signals through the skin to the signal transducer to generate responsive vibrations of the signal transducer for perception by the patient as sound. The drive coils are configured such that their respective magnetic drive signals have opposing magnetic directions.

A floating mass transducer for a hearing implant includes a cylindrical transducer housing that is attachable to a middle ear hearing structure and that has an outer surface with one or more electric drive coils thereon. A cylindrical transducer magnet arrangement is positioned within an interior volume of the transducer housing and includes a magnetic pair of an inner rod magnet and an outer annular magnet. Current flow through the drive coils creates a coil magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic fields of the transducer magnet arrangement to create vibration in the transducer magnet which is coupled by the transducer housing to the middle ear hearing structure for perception as sound. Opposing magnetic fields of the transducer magnet arrangement cancel each other to minimize their combined magnetic field and thereby minimize magnetic interaction of the transducer magnet arrangement with any external magnetic field.

A method is described for providing sound perception in a hearing impaired patient. An externally generated electrical audio stimulation signal is received in a receiver unit located under the skin of an implanted patient. The electrical audio stimulation signal is delivered to an implanted bone conduction transducer having a planar bone engagement surface mounted to a temporal bone surface of the patient. The electrical audio stimulation signal is transformed into a corresponding mechanical stimulation signal coupled to the temporal bone by the bone engagement surface for delivery by bone conduction through the temporal bone to the cochlear fluid of the patient for perception as sound.

Bone conductive devices for improving hearing

A magnetic vascular clamp for vascular repair is described. There are two clamp pieces, where each clamp piece forms a partial cylindrical section of an annular cylinder. Each clamp piece has an outer surface and an inner surface, structural ribs arranged across the inner surface from one sectional end to the other, and a pair of magnetic sectional end surfaces connecting the outer surface and the inner surface and having a characteristic magnetic field arrangement. The sectional end surfaces and magnetic field arrangements of each clamp piece cooperate with the sectional end surfaces and magnetic field arrangements of the other clamp piece to form a complete annular cylinder held together by the magnetic field arrangements and enclosing an inner cylinder so as to structurally support damaged vascular tissue therein with minimal fluid leakage.

Vascular clamps for vascular repair

Devices with both electrical and mechanical signal transducers can be used for improving sound perception by individuals with severe to profound hearing loss or tinnitus.

Implantable medical devices with multiple transducers

The present invention relates to implantable medical devices for improving sound perception by subjects with conductive or mixed conductive/sensorineural hearing loss. In particular, the present invention provides methods and devices for vibrating the skull of a hearing impaired subject.

Implantable microphone devices that may be utilized in hearing systems are provided. An implantable microphone device allows the implantable microphone's frequency response and sensitivity to be selected. A microphone device with an increased membrane flexibility and a decreased acoustic compliance of the sealed cavity. Vibrations of a membrane are transmitted through a primary air cavity and through an aperture of a microphone. Keeping a flexible membrane and decreasing the sealed air cavity compliance are the preferred way to simultaneously increase overall sensitivity of the device, and move the resonance peak to higher frequencies.

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Axams, Austria

Geoffrey R Ball