Cochlear Limited

Jan Vermeiren

Rishubh Verma

Kristof I Buytaert

Koen Van Den Heuvel

Travis Rian Andrews

Antonin Rambault

A vibrator including a housing, a transducer positioned within the housing such that there is a gap between the transducer and housing, and a damper assembly, disposed in the gap between the housing and at least a portion of the transducer, the damper assembly extending a sub-distance of the total distance of the gap.

Impact and resonance management

Presented herein are implantable sound sensors that include a non-uniform diaphragm mechanically coupled to a vibrating structure of a recipient's middle or inner ear. The non-uniform diaphragm includes a central region and a peripheral region, where the thickness of the central region is greater than the thickness of the peripheral region.

Implantable sound sensors with non-uniform diaphragms

Wires and coils within an electrode assembly electromagnetically interact and cause mechanical motion of the assembly. This mechanical motion can be used to supplement or replace the electrical stimulation provided by a standard cochlear implant and provides targeted acoustic stimulation to the cochlea.

Hybrid electrically- and mechanically-stimulating cochlear implant

Embodiments are generally directed to implantable transducer systems for implantable hearing prostheses. The implantable transducer systems in accordance with embodiments presented herein include a transducer and an expandable fixation arrangement, such as a radially expandable fixation arrangement, that is configured to anchor/secure the implantable transducer system directly within an elongate cannular cavity extending through a portion of a recipient's skull bone.

Implantable transducer system

Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to an implantable auditory prosthesis that comprises a transducer configured to be implanted in a recipient. The transducer comprises at least one bender element (e.g., piezoelectric element, magnetorestrictive element, etc.) that is configured to deform in response to application of an electrical signal thereto so as to generate vibration for delivery to the recipient. One or more components are mechanically and electrically connected to the bender element and are configured to generate additional vibration for delivery to the recipient. In certain embodiments, the one or more components mechanically coupled to the bender element comprise an inductor coil operating as a counter-mass. The inductor coil may be configured to drive another mass (e.g., a magnet) so as to operate as an active vibration generation system.

Implantable auditory prosthesis with floating mass transducer

A device including an inductive radio frequency communication coil and a platform apparatus configured to be secured or coupled to an actuator such that the actuator can induce vibration in the skull inducing hearing percepts, and the RF coil can deliver communication allowing an implantable stimulator to also induce hearing percepts.

External component with inductance and mechanical vibratory functionality

An implantable actuator system is disclosed. The system comprises a hermetically sealed housing; an actuator positioned in the housing, the actuator having at least one element displaceable relative to the housing; a coupling element connecting the actuator to the recipient's ear; and a diaphragm positioned at an end of the housing to provide a hermetic seal between the coupling element and the housing, wherein the diaphragm has sufficient flexibility to permit the coupling element to transmit vibrations to or from the actuator, wherein a liquid is positioned around the displaceable element of actuator to dampen the frequency response of the actuator, and in certain aspects, to make the system insensitive to differences in pressure between inside and outside of the housing.

Hearing prosthesis having an implantable actuator system

An implantable hearing prosthesis comprising a vibrator for generating vibrations, a coupling arm adapted to be attached to an element of a recipient's ear; and a quick-connector comprising a first connector half disposed on the vibrator and a second connector half disposed on the coupling arm, wherein the connector halves are adapted to be releasably mated with one another to secure the coupling arm in relative position to the vibrator.

Growing community of inventors

Mechelen, Belgium

Jan Vermeiren