Oticon Medical A/s

Cochlear Limited

Pierre Stahl

Dan Gnansia

Manuel Segovia Martinez

Bradford Backus

Yannick Vaiarello

Aswin Adris Wijetillake

Julian Skovgaard

Marianna Vatti

Martin Besnard

Behnam Molaee

Simon Krogholt Christiansen

Michel Hoen

Kai Dang

Jean-Claude Repetto

Thomas Demarcy

Yannik Vaiarello

Attila Frater

A cochlear implant system is disclosed. The system includes an external unit configured to receive acoustical sound and process the acoustical sound into a coded audio signal, and an implantable unit configured to receive the coded audio signal. The system further comprises a pulse generating unit configured to generate a first electrical pulse of a first pulse duration and a second electrical pulse of a second pulse duration different from the first pulse duration based on the coded audio signal. The system still further comprises an electrode array including a plurality of electrodes, wherein at least one of the plurality of electrodes is configured to receive at least the first electrical pulse and the second electrical pulse, and a capacitor connected to the at least one of the plurality of electrodes. The system still further comprises a measurement unit configured to measure, across the connection of the at least one of the plurality of electrodes and the capacitor, a first voltage based on the first electrical pulse and a second voltage based on the second electrical pulse. The system still further comprises an evaluation unit configured to calculate a voltage difference between the measured first and second voltages.

Cochlear implant system with measurement unit

A method and a cochlea implant system for providing reliably control and stability of the ratio between the positive charge and the capacitive discharge of an electrical pulse are disclosed. The system includes an external unit configured to receive acoustical sound and process the acoustical sound into a coded audio signal, and an implantable unit configured to receive the coded audio signal. The system further comprises a pulse generating unit configured to generate a first electrical pulse of a first pulse duration and a second electrical pulse of a second pulse duration different from the first pulse duration based on the coded audio signal. The system still further comprises an electrode array including a plurality of electrodes, wherein at least one of the plurality of electrodes is configured to receive at least the first electrical pulse and the second electrical pulse, and a capacitor connected to the at least one of the plurality of electrodes. The system still further comprises a measurement unit configured to measure, across the connection of the at least one of the plurality of electrodes and the capacitor, a first voltage based on the first electrical pulse and a second voltage based on the second electrical pulse. The system still further comprises an evaluation unit configured to calculate a voltage difference between the measured first and second voltages.

Cochlea implant system with measurement unit

The disclosure relates to a cochlear implant system, and more particularly, the disclosure relates to a processor unit which includes a switching mean configured to switch between using a fixed stimulation frame onset or a variable stimulation frame onset for frame coding a plurality of stimulation pulses into a one or more stimulation frames.

Cochlear implant system with optimized frame coding

A cochlear stimulation system for determining a Temporal Fine Structure (TFS) parameter of a spectral component of an incoming acoustic signal is provided. The system comprises a transducer receiving an incoming acoustic signal, and wherein a sampled audio signal of length N samples is provided based on the incoming acoustic signal, a storing unit including a plurality of window frequency differences and/or a plurality of window energy level differences. The system further comprises a signal processor for estimating the TFS parameter of the full frequency range of the sampled audio signal by locating a main spectrum sample of the plurality of spectrum samples having a maximum energy level within a range of frequencies centered around the main spectrum sample, and determining the TFS parameter based on the energy level difference for one or more of the spectrum samples of the group of spectrum samples and the window function.

Cochlear stimulation system with an improved method for determining a temporal fine structure parameter

The invention relates to a cochlear implant system comprising a microphone unit configured to receive an acoustical signal and transmit an audio signal based on the acoustical signal, a processor unit configured to receive the audio signal and process the audio signal into a plurality of electrode pulses, an electrode array including a plurality of electrodes configured to stimulate auditory nerves of a user of the cochlear implant system based on the plurality of electrode pulses, and wherein the processor unit is configured to assign an importance value to one or more electrodes of the plurality of electrodes, wherein each of the importance values is determined based on a status of an electrode pulse assigned to the respective electrode, select a main set of electrodes of the plurality of electrodes during a time window, where the importance value of each of the selected electrodes of the main set of electrodes is larger or equal to an importance threshold value, activate the electrodes of the main set of electrodes to stimulate auditory nerves based on the electrode pulses of the plurality of electrode pulses, and reserve the electrodes of the main set of electrodes into a reserved mode during a reservation period.

Cochlear implant system with improved electrode selection scheme

An aspect of the disclosure is to provide a method and a hearing aid system comprising; a microphone unit configured to receive an acoustical input and provide an audio signal based on the acoustical input, and wherein the audio signal includes a sound pressure level; a storing unit including a normal hearing loudness model, a loudness scheme, a stimulation model and a coding parameter model; a sound output unit configured to stimulate auditory nerve fibers of a recipient of the hearing aid system based on audible stimulations; a processing unit configured to; extract a normal hearing loudness based on the sound pressure level and the normal hearing loudness model, and the normal hearing loudness model includes a plurality of normal hearing loudness as a function of a plurality of sound pressure levels; transform the normal hearing loudness to a secondary hearing loudness according to a loudness scheme; determine a stimulation level within a dynamic range of a recipient of the hearing aid system based on the secondary hearing loudness and the stimulation model, where the stimulation model includes a relation between a plurality of stimulation levels and a plurality of secondary hearing loudness; determine one or more stimulation coding parameters based on the coding parameter model, where the coding parameter model includes a relation between the determined stimulation level and the one or more stimulation coding parameters; and wherein the processing unit is configured to generate the audible stimulations based on the determined one or more stimulation coding parameters and provide the audible stimulations via the sound output unit to the auditory nerve fibers of the recipient of the hearing aid system such that the recipient perceives the secondary hearing loudness.

Generalized method for providing one or more stimulation coding parameters in a hearing aid system for obtaining a perceivable hearing loudness

A hearing device for use with a cochlear implant system is disclosed. An input portion receives, as a stimulus, an acoustic signal, converts the acoustic signal into an electrical acoustic signal and provides the electrical acoustic signal. A processing portion processes the electrical acoustic signal and conducts an active grounding procedure. An implant portion being implantable at least partially in a cochlea of the user comprises a plurality of operation electrodes and a reference electrode, e.g. an external electrode being grounded and implantable outside of the cochlea of the user. The operation electrodes are driven by the processing portion on the basis of the electric acoustic signal. An electrode state setting section sets the plurality of operation electrodes into one of a high impedance state, a grounded state and a stimulating state in which a signal based on the electric acoustic signal is supplied to a stimulation electrode of the plurality of operation electrodes. An electrode state setting pattern determining section selects, according to an operation mode of the cochlear implant system, one of a plurality of electrode state setting patterns, wherein each of the electrode state setting patterns is adapted to enable a stimulation by a stimulation electrode of the plurality of operation electrodes being in a stimulating state and at least one of the plurality of operation electrodes being in a grounded state or in a high impedance state. The electrode state setting section sets the plurality of operation electrodes into the specified electrode state according to the selected electrode state setting pattern.

Hearing device using a cochlear implant system and control method thereof

A method of calibrating stimulation threshold levels of a cochlear implant, comprises sending a series of stimulation signals having a predetermined length in time to a selected subset of a plurality of stimulation electrodes of the cochlear implant of a user, wherein for each signal of the series of stimulation signals, the stimulation level is larger compared to the stimulation level of the previous stimulation signal; receiving an electrophysiological signal for each stimulation signal from a measurement electrode attached to the head of the user; calculating a cross-correlation signal for each of the received electrophysiological signals for each stimulation level following the first stimulation signal with respect to the first electrophysiological signal received for the first stimulation signal, determining, whether the respective cross-correlation signal exceeds a predetermined threshold level, wherein the sending of the series of stimulation signals is stopped and the stimulation level is set as the threshold stimulation level for the selected subset of stimulation electrodes, in case it is determined that the cross-correlation signal exceeds the predetermined threshold level for a first time, and outputting the level of stimulation at which the sending is stopped.

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Vallauris, France

Pierre Stahl