University of Minnesota

Hongsun Guo

Hubert H Lim

Mark L Hamilton

Cory Gloeckner

A hearing system to activate an auditory system using cerebrospinal fluids includes at least one processor configured to receive an audio signal captured using a sound sensor (e.g., a microphone), extract temporal and spectral features from the audio signal, and create modulated ultrasound signals in a range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz with ultrasound carrier frequencies in the range of 50 kHz to 4 MHz, which are ultrasound frequencies that are well-suited to reach the cerebrospinal fluids (e.g., can pass across the skull/bones to reach the cerebrospinal fluids). The system further includes at least one ultrasonic transducer which receives the modulated signal and delivers the modulated signal to the body and activates the auditory system via vibration of cerebrospinal fluids that vibrate cochlear fluids, bypassing the normal conductive pathway that uses middle ear bones and minimizing bone conduction and distortion through the skull.

Ultrasonic hearing system and related methods

A hearing system for stimulating an auditory system for sound perception by activating a particular region of a cochlea of a user using ultrasound signals, the particular region corresponding to a target frequency range, the system including: an ultrasonic transducer configured to deliver an ultrasound signal via an interface medium; and a processor communicatively coupled to the ultrasonic transducer, the processor to: obtain an audio signal, extract at least one of a temporal feature or a spectral feature from the audio signal, transpose the audio signal to the target frequency range based on extracting the at least one of the temporal feature or the spectral feature from the audio signal, generate a modulated ultrasound signal based on modifying a carrier signal having at least one frequency between 100 kHz and 4 MHz by the transposed audio signal, and provide the modulated ultrasound signal to the ultrasonic transducer for delivery via an interface medium.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Hongsun Guo