Vibrant Med-El Hearing Technology Gmbh

Med-El Elektromedizinische Geraete Gmbh

Peter Lampacher

Martin Zimmerling

Geoffrey R Ball

Wolfgang Amrhein

Gunther Weidenholzer

Thomas Lechleitner

Markus Nagl

Bernhard Jamnig

An arrangement is described for a hearing implant system. An implantable housing has an outer surface configured to lie under and parallel to the skin of the implanted patient. An implant magnet arrangement is located within the implantable housing and has multiple local magnetic sections with different independent local magnetic fields that are combined together to form a net magnetic field with at least two-fold symmetry and zero net magnetic dipole moment, wherein the magnetic fields are oriented parallel to the outer surface of the implant housing.

Symmetric magnet arrangement for medical implants

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.

MRI safe actuator for implantable floating mass transducer

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

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

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.

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Innsbruck, Austria

Peter Lampacher