Med-el Elektromedizinische Geraete Gmbh

Med-el Elektro-medizinische Gerate Gesellschaft M.b.h.

Richard Penninger

Dirk Meister

Sascha Fuchs

Daniel Hofer

A cochlear implant system for processing polyphonic pitch includes an electrode array for implanting in a cochlea of a patient. The electrode array includes a first set of electrodes, where each electrode of the first set is for implanting on a first region of the cochlea. The electrode array also includes a second set of electrodes, where each electrode of the second set is for implanting on a second region of the cochlea. The system also includes a sound processor configured to capture a sound signal having polyphonic pitch. For each electrode of the first set and second set, the speech processor generates at least two different modulated frequency signals from the sound signal, such that each of the modulated frequency signals corresponds to a different pitch in the sound signal. The speech processor stimulates the electrode by simultaneously applying the at least two different modulated frequency signals.

Polyphonic pitch enhancement in a cochlear implant

A fitting arrangement is described for fitting electrode contacts of cochlear implant electrode array implanted in a cochlea of an implanted patient. This involves iteratively fitting multiple fitting electrode contacts by for each of the fitting electrode contacts: i. delivering fitting stimulation signals to the fitting electrode contact and at least one neighboring electrode contact to stimulate adjacent auditory neural tissue, wherein the fitting stimulation signals are characterized by a charge level distribution function having a non-zero noise level charge at the at least one neighboring electrode contact and a response level charge much greater than the noise level charge at the fitting electrode contact, and ii. obtaining patient responses from the implanted patient to the fitting stimulation signals. A patient-specific fit map is then defined for the electrode contacts of cochlear implant electrode array based on the patient responses.

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Innsbruck, Austria

Richard Penninger