Cochlear Limited

Societe Des Produits Nestle S.a.

Advanced Bionics Ag

Phonak Ag

Depuy Synthes Products, Inc.

Hans Bernhard

Adam Stewart Burbidge

Michael Reuben Jedwab

Christoph Hans Schmid

Florent Maxime Hubert-Brierre

Kristof I Buytaert

Markus Haller

Christiane D'hondt

Grégoire Meylan

Elise Gortchacow

Kyun Thibaut

Martin Junghans

Jurgen Van Vlem

Susanne Gentner

Henri Défossez

Herbert Bächler

Volkmar Hamacher

Markus Buettler

Christian Peclat

Christof Dutoit

Joël Fontannaz

Simon Wampfler

Alain Saurer

Christof Stieger

Thomas Kaiser

Reza Abedian

Remo Pfaff

Michael Jedwab

Ben Kloeck

Karen Cauwels

Karel Huybrechts

Rudolph Hausler

Patrizio Visino

Christian Péclat

Manfred Lüdi

Zbynek Struzka

Apparatuses for detecting swallowing disorders and methods for using same are provided. In a general embodiment, the apparatuses include a disposable sensor base and a sensor that is received by the disposable sensor base. The sensor base includes a sensor interface having a predetermined cut-away shape and a directionally-keyed mating surface. The sensor includes a handle portion having a shape that corresponds to the predetermined shape of the sensor interface, a support portion configured to be received by the directionally-keyed mating surface when the sensor is inserted into the sensor interface, and electronics configured to collect data sensed by the sensor. The apparatuses of the present disclosure can be attached to a patient's neck to detect and/or diagnose swallowing disorders during a swallowing test.

Apparatuses for detecting and/or diagnosing swallowing disorders

An implant insertion assembly including an insertion handle extending from a proximal end to a distal end, the distal end including a recessed portion, an outer wall of the recessed portion having a first shape about a perimeter thereof and including an engagement mechanism. The implant insertion assembly also includes an implant extending from a distal end to a proximal end including an opening configured to receive the recessed portion of the insertion handle, the opening having a second shape configured to mechanically interlock with the outer wall of the recessed portion when the recessed portion is inserted therein to transmit torque from the insertion handle to the implant, the proximal end including a receiving structure in a wall thereof, the receiving structure being positioned and oriented to receive the engagement mechanism to removably lock the insertion handle to the implant in the axial direction.

Self-retaining nail to insertion handle interface

Evaluating an implanted hearing prosthesis, including operating the implanted hearing prosthesis, capturing sound generated by a transducer of the prosthesis during said operation, and comparing the captured sound to a sound model.

Evaluation of an implanted prosthesis

An at least partially implantable hearing aid has an input transducer () for capturing audio signals from ambient sound, an audio signal processing unit () for processing the captured audio signals, an actuator () for stimulating a patient's hearing, and a driver unit () for driving the actuator. The actuator has a rigid housing () closed on at least one side by a vibration diaphragm () that is driven by a piezoelectric transducer (). The housing is designed to float in the cochlea in direct contact with the cochlear liquids in order to couple vibration energy from the diaphragm directly into the cochlear liquids.

Hearing aid comprising an intra-cochlear actuator

An electromechanical actuator () suitable, for example, in hearing aid applications is disclosed. Certain embodiments of the actuator comprise a hermetic titanium housing (), a mechanical output structure () emulating the long process of incus (), and means for efficiently generating movement in the audible frequency range. The electromechanical actuator () may be configured to be coupled to the inner ear fluids via a conventional stapes prosthesis. The implantable actuator (), which may be considered to be operably equivalent to a loudspeaker of a conventional hearing aid, may bypass the outer and the middle ear in order to directly drive the inner ear fluids. As such, embodiments of the electromechanical actuator of the present invention may be used to remedy any source of conductive hearing loss. Additionally, certain embodiments of the electromechanical actuator may be configured to provide sufficiently high output levels to treat severe sensorineural hearing loss while being sufficiently small to completely fit into a human mastoid.

Implantable actuator for hearing aid applications

An implantable fixation assembly () for removably securing a (medical) device in a human body is disclosed. The assembly includes: an anchor portion () securable to bone; a pair of spaced apart legs (), at least one leg () being resiliently flexible, the ends () of the legs () attached to the anchor portion (); a clamp portion () attached towards or at the ends () of the legs (); a screw and nut combination having an axis of rotation longitudinal to the legs, the combination operably engaging at least one of the legs () so as to pull them together or push them apart thereby actuating the clamp portion () to secure the device, wherein the actuating is reversible for selectively gripping and releasing the device.

Implantable fixation assembly for removably securing medical device

An implanted hearing aid or hearing device includes at least one permanent magnet () positioned in the area of the middle ear, as well as at least one coil (), with at least one permanent magnet () attached to the promontory ().

Implanted hearing aids

An implantable electromagnetic transducer for hearing aids and process for tuning its frequency response are disclosed. The transducer is provided with a static transducer part which includes a hermetically sealed transducer housing and a ring coil arrangement which is mounted inside, and with a dynamic part which is mechanically connected to the static transducer part via at least one connecting element which is coupled in the implanted state to part of the body of the implant wearer via at least one connecting element. The implantable transducer has a permanent magnet arrangement, which interacts with the ring coil arrangement and which is supported to be able to vibrate by means of a support in the direction of the axis of the ring coil arrangement, with at least one connecting element being made as a multifunction element which is part of the support and/or part of the hermetically tight transducer housing. The mechanical properties of the multifunction element are selected for achieving a set frequency response of the transducer.

Implantable transducer for hearing aids and process for tuning the frequency response of one such transducer

Growing community of inventors

Liebefeld, Switzerland

Hans Bernhard