CA2274211C - Transducer arrangement for partially or fully implantable hearing aids - Google Patents
Transducer arrangement for partially or fully implantable hearing aids Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2274211C CA2274211C CA002274211A CA2274211A CA2274211C CA 2274211 C CA2274211 C CA 2274211C CA 002274211 A CA002274211 A CA 002274211A CA 2274211 A CA2274211 A CA 2274211A CA 2274211 C CA2274211 C CA 2274211C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- housing
- transducer
- vibratory
- component
- coupling element
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
- H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
- H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
- H04R25/604—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of acoustic or vibrational transducers
- H04R25/606—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of acoustic or vibrational transducers acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
- H04R2225/00—Details of deaf aids covered by H04R25/00, not provided for in any of its subgroups
- H04R2225/67—Implantable hearing aids or parts thereof not covered by H04R25/606
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
- H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
- H04R25/55—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using an external connection, either wireless or wired
- H04R25/558—Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
Abstract
The invention relates to a transducer for a partially or fully implantable hearing aids for direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear. The transducer is provided with a housing fixedly mounted at the implantation site and a coupling element moveable with respect to the housing for transmitting vibration to the middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear. The housing accommodates an electromagnetic component such as a coil which is fixed relative to the housing and a vibratory component such as a permanent magnet which is mechanically connected to the coupling element such that the vibration of the vibratory component is transferred to the coupling element.
Description
'TRANSDUCER ARRANGEMENT FOR PARTIALLY
OR FULLY IMPLANTABLE HEARING AIDS
Background of the Invention Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of transducers for partially or fully implantable hearing aids for direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear. More specifically, this invention relates to such transducers including a housing which can be fixed at the implantation site with respect to the skull and a coupling element which can move with respect to the housing, the housing accommodatin~~ an electromechanical transducer by which the coupling element can transmit vibrations from the electromechanical transducer to the middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear.
Description of Related Art A transducer arrangement of this general type is known from U.S. Patent No.
5,277,694.
In this reference, it is proposed that one wall of a housing be made as a vibrating membrane with an electromechanically active heteromorphic composite element with a piezoelectric ceramic disk attached to the side of the membrane inside the housing.
Generally, a hearinU aid transducer built in this manner can be implanted without difficulty and generally good results have been achieved. However, it has been found that at low frequencies, the coupling element driven by the piezoelectric ceramic disk does not create sufficient deflections to provide adequate loudness level for patients with medium and more serious hearings loss. This insu~cient deflection has been attributed, in part, to be caused by the low electrical voltaUes required for such implants.
U.S. Patent No. 5,624,376 discloses a transducer for partially or fully implantable hearing aids based on the electromagnetic principle in which a permanent magnet, together with two 2~ assigned pole pieces, is loosely suspended in a cylindrical housing. An induction coil which interacts with the permanent magnet is positioned in a cylindrical air gap bounded by the pole pieces and is permanently joined to one housing wall. When an AC voltage is applied to the coil, a grounded portion consisting of the permanent magnet and the pole pieces is vibrated.
This grounded portion is mechanically coupled to the housing which is designed for attachment ~ to a vibratory structure of the ear. Thus, when the grounded portion is vibrated, the resulting vibration of the housing stimulates the vibratory structure of the ear.
However, it has been found that surgical implantation of such transducers is very difficult.
Providing support for the housing and also mechanically coupling the housing with the vibratory structure of the ear (such as the ossicular chain) has been found to be especially difficult to surgically implement.
In an article by Fredrickson et al. entitled "Ongoing Investigations Into An Implantable Electromagnetic Hearing Aid for Moderate to Severe Sensorineural Loss", Otolaryngolic Clinics of North America, Vol. 28, No. l, (February 1995), the authors mention an implantable middle ear transducer which drives a biocompatible probe tip and is accommodated in a hermetically sealed housing made of stainless steel. The probe tip fits into an opening on the 1 ~ incus which is formed by a laser beam. This reference, however, fails to disclose how the electromagnetic transducer is made or operated or how vibrations are transmitted from the electromagnetic transducer to the probe tip.
Therefore, there exists an unfulfilled need for electromagnetic transducers for partially or fully implantable hearing aids which provide direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear while avoidin;~ the sur'ical di~culties of the prior art transducers.
Summary of the Invention In view of the for;oing, the primary object of the present invention is to devise a hearing aid transducer which is mechanically coupled to a middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear for transmission of vibration.
2~ A second object of the present invention is to devise a hearing aid transducer of the initially mentioned type which can generate even relatively low frequency vibrations with sufficient amplitude while using relatively little energy.
Yet another object of the present invention is to devise a hearing aid transducer which accomplishes the above objectives and may be surgically implanted without difficulty.
These objects are achieved by providing an electromechanical hearings aid transducer including an electromagnet arrangement with an electromagnetic component which is fixed relative to the housing and a vibratory component which is connected to the coupling element such that the vibrations of the vibratory component are transferred to the coupling element.
The present invention has advantages over the prior art hearing aid transducers in that the present transducer may be implanted easily without the problems associated with the piezoelectric transducer disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,277,694 and be implanted with respect to a bony poation of the skull. In addition, by providing an electromagnetic transducer, the frequency response of the present transducer is improved especially at low frequencies of the hearing range so that adequate hearing loudness is achieved despite the low operating electrical voltages required in such implants.
More specifically, in one preferred embodiment, one wall of the housing may be made to vibrate and may be formed as a vibratory membrane with a vibratory component attached to the side of the membrane inside the housing and the coupling element connected to the side of the membrane outside the housing.
The housing is preferably made to be hermetically sealed and biocompatible.
The preferred embodiment is advantageously made cylindrical and has one peripheral wall and two circular end walls which run essentially parallel to one another. One of the two circular end walls forms the vibratory membrane while the other circular end wall can be integrally joined to the peripheral wall of the housing.
Also in the preferred embodiment, both the vibratory component and also the coupling element are attached essentially at the center of the vibratory membrane. A
vibratory component which may be a permanent magnet, is connected to the side of the membrane inside the housing. An electroma~Tnetic element such as a coil is permanently attached within the housing and is operable to cause vibration of the permanent magnet.
2~ In addition, the permanent magnet may be made as a magnetic pin and the electromagnetic component may be made as a ring coil with a center opening where the vibratory component such as the magnetic pin may be positioned. This yields a transducer with an especially small mass which is moved to create the vibration which promptly and accurately reflect chancres in the electrical signal applied to the electromagnetic element.
A preferred embodiment of this invention is described below with reference to the attached drawin<,s.
Brief Description of the DrawinUs Fig. 1 shows a sectional view of a transducer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of a human ear with an implanted hearing aid including a transducer in accordance with the present invention as illustrated in Fig. 1.
Detailed Description of the Invention Fig. 1 shows an implantable transducer arrangement for a hearing aid for direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear including an electromechanical transducer 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A detector, such as a microphone 58 (as shown in Fig. 2), may be provided and is preferably implanted to receive the sound. As Fig.l illustrates, the transducer 10 is equipped with a hermetically sealed, biocompatible cylindrical housing 14. The housing 14 is preferably made of metal, for example, titanium, niobium, tantalum, iridium or their alloys and is filled with an inert gas 16. The housing 14 has one peripheral wall 11 and two circular end walls 12 and 18 which are 1~ substantially perpendicular to the peripheral wall 11. In this embodiment, the end wall 12 may be integrally joined to the peripheral wall 11 of the housing. The end wall 18 of the housing 14 is made as a thin vibratory membrane 18 with a coupling element 20 fixedly attached to the side of the vibratory membrane 18 outside the housing 14. The coupling element 20 is preferably welded or cemented to the center of the vibratory membrane 18 and provides mechanical vibrational coupling.: to the middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear.
As also illustrated in Fig. 1, the electromagnet arrangement includes an electromagnetic component 32 and a vibratory component 30: The vibratory component 30 is provided at the center of the vibratory membrane 18 on the side of the vibratory membrane 18 inside the housing 14. The vibratory component 30 may be a pin or rod shaped permanent magnet and may be attached to the vibratory membrane 18 by an adhesive or other attaching means. The electromagnetic component 32 is also provided within the housing 14 and is permanently fixed, for example, by cementing it to the housing 14. The electromagnetic component 32 may be a coil or a rin;.: coil with a central opening so that the vibratory component 30 may be positioned and displaced within the central opening of the electromagnetic component 32 as illustrated in Fig. 1. In addition, an electrically insulatin;~, hermetic penetration 2G is provided on the end wall 12 so that the terminals ;i6, which are electrically connected to the electroma~,netic component 32 by wires 34, may be rooted out of the hOUSIrI~~ 14.
Excitation of the electromagnetic component ,:? by application of an AC
volta4Te to the terminals 3G causes a displacement of the vibratory component 30 relative to the housin y;-tnounted t;IE;Ctrollla~,~rlCtic CO117p017er1t 32 thereby causing deflection of the ~~ribratory membrane 1 S. As previously noted, tl~~e electromagnetic component 32 may be a ring coil and the vibratory component 30 may be a permanent pin mayTnet The deflection of the vibratory membrane 18 is t1'aIISITIItted via the coupling element 20 to the middle-ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear. The coupling element 2C) may be made as a c:onnectin~~ rod and can be connected to the ossicular chain, for example, by a thin wire or hollow wire clip or a clip of carbon fiber-reinforced composite. Suitable arrangements of this type are described in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 5,941,814.
Fig. 2 shows an ~rriplanted hearing aid 51 which is equipped with a transducer 10 of the l~ above described type as implanted in a human ear 100. ~f'he hearing aid 51 includes a battery unit 53, a char~,in~_ reception coil 54, and an electronic module 5~. These components are accommodated in a hermetically sealed housinf,~ SG which can be implanted in the mastoid region 57. The transducer 10 and a microphone SS are connected via wires 59 and 60 to the electronic module ~S. The coupling, element 20 (illustrated penetratin~~
through an opening on the incus) is coupled to the ossicul;zr chain G2. The portable chargin~~ unit G3 includes a charging transmission coil G4 whicl-r can be inductively coupled to the char;;in~~ reception coil 54 for transcutaneous clwr;.:in~~ of they battery unit S~s. A remote control unit G5 may also be provided. A hearin'; aid of this ~~eneral type is exemplified in U.S. Patent No. 5,277,694 and therefore, need not be discussed in further detail here.
2~ While the preferred embodimea~t of the present invention has been described. it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto, and is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the details shown and described herein, and includes all such chan'les and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.
OR FULLY IMPLANTABLE HEARING AIDS
Background of the Invention Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of transducers for partially or fully implantable hearing aids for direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear. More specifically, this invention relates to such transducers including a housing which can be fixed at the implantation site with respect to the skull and a coupling element which can move with respect to the housing, the housing accommodatin~~ an electromechanical transducer by which the coupling element can transmit vibrations from the electromechanical transducer to the middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear.
Description of Related Art A transducer arrangement of this general type is known from U.S. Patent No.
5,277,694.
In this reference, it is proposed that one wall of a housing be made as a vibrating membrane with an electromechanically active heteromorphic composite element with a piezoelectric ceramic disk attached to the side of the membrane inside the housing.
Generally, a hearinU aid transducer built in this manner can be implanted without difficulty and generally good results have been achieved. However, it has been found that at low frequencies, the coupling element driven by the piezoelectric ceramic disk does not create sufficient deflections to provide adequate loudness level for patients with medium and more serious hearings loss. This insu~cient deflection has been attributed, in part, to be caused by the low electrical voltaUes required for such implants.
U.S. Patent No. 5,624,376 discloses a transducer for partially or fully implantable hearing aids based on the electromagnetic principle in which a permanent magnet, together with two 2~ assigned pole pieces, is loosely suspended in a cylindrical housing. An induction coil which interacts with the permanent magnet is positioned in a cylindrical air gap bounded by the pole pieces and is permanently joined to one housing wall. When an AC voltage is applied to the coil, a grounded portion consisting of the permanent magnet and the pole pieces is vibrated.
This grounded portion is mechanically coupled to the housing which is designed for attachment ~ to a vibratory structure of the ear. Thus, when the grounded portion is vibrated, the resulting vibration of the housing stimulates the vibratory structure of the ear.
However, it has been found that surgical implantation of such transducers is very difficult.
Providing support for the housing and also mechanically coupling the housing with the vibratory structure of the ear (such as the ossicular chain) has been found to be especially difficult to surgically implement.
In an article by Fredrickson et al. entitled "Ongoing Investigations Into An Implantable Electromagnetic Hearing Aid for Moderate to Severe Sensorineural Loss", Otolaryngolic Clinics of North America, Vol. 28, No. l, (February 1995), the authors mention an implantable middle ear transducer which drives a biocompatible probe tip and is accommodated in a hermetically sealed housing made of stainless steel. The probe tip fits into an opening on the 1 ~ incus which is formed by a laser beam. This reference, however, fails to disclose how the electromagnetic transducer is made or operated or how vibrations are transmitted from the electromagnetic transducer to the probe tip.
Therefore, there exists an unfulfilled need for electromagnetic transducers for partially or fully implantable hearing aids which provide direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear while avoidin;~ the sur'ical di~culties of the prior art transducers.
Summary of the Invention In view of the for;oing, the primary object of the present invention is to devise a hearing aid transducer which is mechanically coupled to a middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear for transmission of vibration.
2~ A second object of the present invention is to devise a hearing aid transducer of the initially mentioned type which can generate even relatively low frequency vibrations with sufficient amplitude while using relatively little energy.
Yet another object of the present invention is to devise a hearing aid transducer which accomplishes the above objectives and may be surgically implanted without difficulty.
These objects are achieved by providing an electromechanical hearings aid transducer including an electromagnet arrangement with an electromagnetic component which is fixed relative to the housing and a vibratory component which is connected to the coupling element such that the vibrations of the vibratory component are transferred to the coupling element.
The present invention has advantages over the prior art hearing aid transducers in that the present transducer may be implanted easily without the problems associated with the piezoelectric transducer disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,277,694 and be implanted with respect to a bony poation of the skull. In addition, by providing an electromagnetic transducer, the frequency response of the present transducer is improved especially at low frequencies of the hearing range so that adequate hearing loudness is achieved despite the low operating electrical voltages required in such implants.
More specifically, in one preferred embodiment, one wall of the housing may be made to vibrate and may be formed as a vibratory membrane with a vibratory component attached to the side of the membrane inside the housing and the coupling element connected to the side of the membrane outside the housing.
The housing is preferably made to be hermetically sealed and biocompatible.
The preferred embodiment is advantageously made cylindrical and has one peripheral wall and two circular end walls which run essentially parallel to one another. One of the two circular end walls forms the vibratory membrane while the other circular end wall can be integrally joined to the peripheral wall of the housing.
Also in the preferred embodiment, both the vibratory component and also the coupling element are attached essentially at the center of the vibratory membrane. A
vibratory component which may be a permanent magnet, is connected to the side of the membrane inside the housing. An electroma~Tnetic element such as a coil is permanently attached within the housing and is operable to cause vibration of the permanent magnet.
2~ In addition, the permanent magnet may be made as a magnetic pin and the electromagnetic component may be made as a ring coil with a center opening where the vibratory component such as the magnetic pin may be positioned. This yields a transducer with an especially small mass which is moved to create the vibration which promptly and accurately reflect chancres in the electrical signal applied to the electromagnetic element.
A preferred embodiment of this invention is described below with reference to the attached drawin<,s.
Brief Description of the DrawinUs Fig. 1 shows a sectional view of a transducer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of a human ear with an implanted hearing aid including a transducer in accordance with the present invention as illustrated in Fig. 1.
Detailed Description of the Invention Fig. 1 shows an implantable transducer arrangement for a hearing aid for direct mechanical excitation of the middle or inner ear including an electromechanical transducer 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A detector, such as a microphone 58 (as shown in Fig. 2), may be provided and is preferably implanted to receive the sound. As Fig.l illustrates, the transducer 10 is equipped with a hermetically sealed, biocompatible cylindrical housing 14. The housing 14 is preferably made of metal, for example, titanium, niobium, tantalum, iridium or their alloys and is filled with an inert gas 16. The housing 14 has one peripheral wall 11 and two circular end walls 12 and 18 which are 1~ substantially perpendicular to the peripheral wall 11. In this embodiment, the end wall 12 may be integrally joined to the peripheral wall 11 of the housing. The end wall 18 of the housing 14 is made as a thin vibratory membrane 18 with a coupling element 20 fixedly attached to the side of the vibratory membrane 18 outside the housing 14. The coupling element 20 is preferably welded or cemented to the center of the vibratory membrane 18 and provides mechanical vibrational coupling.: to the middle ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear.
As also illustrated in Fig. 1, the electromagnet arrangement includes an electromagnetic component 32 and a vibratory component 30: The vibratory component 30 is provided at the center of the vibratory membrane 18 on the side of the vibratory membrane 18 inside the housing 14. The vibratory component 30 may be a pin or rod shaped permanent magnet and may be attached to the vibratory membrane 18 by an adhesive or other attaching means. The electromagnetic component 32 is also provided within the housing 14 and is permanently fixed, for example, by cementing it to the housing 14. The electromagnetic component 32 may be a coil or a rin;.: coil with a central opening so that the vibratory component 30 may be positioned and displaced within the central opening of the electromagnetic component 32 as illustrated in Fig. 1. In addition, an electrically insulatin;~, hermetic penetration 2G is provided on the end wall 12 so that the terminals ;i6, which are electrically connected to the electroma~,netic component 32 by wires 34, may be rooted out of the hOUSIrI~~ 14.
Excitation of the electromagnetic component ,:? by application of an AC
volta4Te to the terminals 3G causes a displacement of the vibratory component 30 relative to the housin y;-tnounted t;IE;Ctrollla~,~rlCtic CO117p017er1t 32 thereby causing deflection of the ~~ribratory membrane 1 S. As previously noted, tl~~e electromagnetic component 32 may be a ring coil and the vibratory component 30 may be a permanent pin mayTnet The deflection of the vibratory membrane 18 is t1'aIISITIItted via the coupling element 20 to the middle-ear ossicle or directly to the inner ear. The coupling element 2C) may be made as a c:onnectin~~ rod and can be connected to the ossicular chain, for example, by a thin wire or hollow wire clip or a clip of carbon fiber-reinforced composite. Suitable arrangements of this type are described in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 5,941,814.
Fig. 2 shows an ~rriplanted hearing aid 51 which is equipped with a transducer 10 of the l~ above described type as implanted in a human ear 100. ~f'he hearing aid 51 includes a battery unit 53, a char~,in~_ reception coil 54, and an electronic module 5~. These components are accommodated in a hermetically sealed housinf,~ SG which can be implanted in the mastoid region 57. The transducer 10 and a microphone SS are connected via wires 59 and 60 to the electronic module ~S. The coupling, element 20 (illustrated penetratin~~
through an opening on the incus) is coupled to the ossicul;zr chain G2. The portable chargin~~ unit G3 includes a charging transmission coil G4 whicl-r can be inductively coupled to the char;;in~~ reception coil 54 for transcutaneous clwr;.:in~~ of they battery unit S~s. A remote control unit G5 may also be provided. A hearin'; aid of this ~~eneral type is exemplified in U.S. Patent No. 5,277,694 and therefore, need not be discussed in further detail here.
2~ While the preferred embodimea~t of the present invention has been described. it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto, and is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the details shown and described herein, and includes all such chan'les and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (10)
1. Transducer for an at least partially implantable hearing aid for providing direct mechanical excitation of at least one of a middle ear and an inner ear comprising, a housing for fixed mounting at an implantation site and a coupling element that is moveable with respect to said housing for transmitting vibration to said at least one of a middle ear and an inner ear, wherein said housing accommodates an electromagnetic component fixed relative to said housing and a vibratory component mechanically connected to said coupling element in a manner that vibration of said vibratory component is transferred to said coupling element;
wherein a wall of said housing is a vibratory membrane with said vibratory component attached to a side of said vibratory membrane inside said housing and wherein said coupling element is connected to a side of said vibratory membrane outside said housing.
wherein a wall of said housing is a vibratory membrane with said vibratory component attached to a side of said vibratory membrane inside said housing and wherein said coupling element is connected to a side of said vibratory membrane outside said housing.
2. Transducer of claim 1, wherein said housing is hermetically sealed and biocompatible.
3.Transducer of claim 1 or 2, wherein said housing is substantially cylindrical with one peripheral wall, a first end wall and a second end wall, said first end wall being substantially parallel to said second end wall.
4. Transducer of claim 3, wherein one of said first end wall and said second end wall of said housing forms said vibratory membrane.
5. Transducer of claim 4, wherein one of said first end wall and said second end wall of said housing is joined integrally to said peripheral wall of said housing.
6. Transducer of claim 4, wherein said vibratory component is attached substantially centrally at a center of said vibratory membrane.
7. Transducer of claim 4, wherein said coupling element is attached substantially centrally at a center of said vibratory membrane.
8. Transducer of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a means for operating said electromagnetic element to vibrate said vibratory component.
9. Transducer of claim 8, wherein said vibratory component is a permanent magnet and said electromagnetic component is a coil.
10. Transducer of claim 5, wherein said permanent magnet is a magnetic pin and said coil is a ring coil with a central opening, said magnetic pin being positioned within said central opening.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE19840212.0 | 1998-09-03 | ||
| DE19840212A DE19840212C2 (en) | 1998-09-03 | 1998-09-03 | Transducer arrangement for partially or fully implantable hearing aids |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2274211A1 CA2274211A1 (en) | 2000-03-03 |
| CA2274211C true CA2274211C (en) | 2002-07-09 |
Family
ID=7879710
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002274211A Expired - Fee Related CA2274211C (en) | 1998-09-03 | 1999-06-11 | Transducer arrangement for partially or fully implantable hearing aids |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US6162169A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0984663B1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU760815B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2274211C (en) |
| DE (2) | DE19840212C2 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK0984663T3 (en) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6364825B1 (en) | 1998-09-24 | 2002-04-02 | St. Croix Medical, Inc. | Method and apparatus for improving signal quality in implantable hearing systems |
| DE19858399C2 (en) * | 1998-12-17 | 2003-02-20 | Phonak Ag Staefa | Electroacoustic transducer for hearing aids for airborne sound radiation in the external auditory canal |
| DE19859171C2 (en) * | 1998-12-21 | 2000-11-09 | Implex Hear Tech Ag | Implantable hearing aid with tinnitus masker or noiser |
| DE19931788C1 (en) | 1999-07-08 | 2000-11-30 | Implex Hear Tech Ag | Implanted mechanical coupling device for auditory ossicle chain in hearing aid system has associated settling device for movement of coupling device between open and closed positions |
| DE19935029C2 (en) | 1999-07-26 | 2003-02-13 | Phonak Ag Staefa | Implantable arrangement for mechanically coupling a driver part to a coupling point |
| DE10015421C2 (en) | 2000-03-28 | 2002-07-04 | Implex Ag Hearing Technology I | Partially or fully implantable hearing system |
| DE10018334C1 (en) * | 2000-04-13 | 2002-02-28 | Implex Hear Tech Ag | At least partially implantable system for the rehabilitation of a hearing impairment |
| DE10031832C2 (en) | 2000-06-30 | 2003-04-30 | Cochlear Ltd | Hearing aid for the rehabilitation of a hearing disorder |
| DE10039401C2 (en) | 2000-08-11 | 2002-06-13 | Implex Ag Hearing Technology I | At least partially implantable hearing system |
| DE10041726C1 (en) * | 2000-08-25 | 2002-05-23 | Implex Ag Hearing Technology I | Implantable hearing system with means for measuring the coupling quality |
| DE10047388C1 (en) | 2000-09-25 | 2002-01-10 | Implex Hear Tech Ag | Implantable hearing system, includes a detachable coupling for securing and locating a transducer and a micro-manipulator |
| DE10114838A1 (en) * | 2001-03-26 | 2002-10-10 | Implex Ag Hearing Technology I | Fully implantable hearing system |
| US6875166B2 (en) * | 2001-09-06 | 2005-04-05 | St. Croix Medical, Inc. | Method for creating a coupling between a device and an ear structure in an implantable hearing assistance device |
| US7278963B2 (en) * | 2003-01-27 | 2007-10-09 | Otologics, Llc | Implantable hearing aid transducer with advanceable actuator to facilitate coupling with the auditory system |
| EP1422971B1 (en) * | 2002-11-20 | 2012-11-07 | Phonak Ag | Implantable transducer for hearing systems and method for adjusting the frequency response of such a transducer |
| US7273447B2 (en) * | 2004-04-09 | 2007-09-25 | Otologics, Llc | Implantable hearing aid transducer retention apparatus |
| US8602964B2 (en) * | 2004-11-30 | 2013-12-10 | Cochlear Limited | Implantable actuator for hearing aid applications |
| WO2007011846A2 (en) * | 2005-07-18 | 2007-01-25 | Soundquest, Inc. | In-ear auditory device and methods of using same |
| US20070127757A2 (en) * | 2005-07-18 | 2007-06-07 | Soundquest, Inc. | Behind-The-Ear-Auditory Device |
| EP2255545A2 (en) | 2008-02-07 | 2010-12-01 | Advanced Bionics AG | Partially implantable hearing device |
| WO2011113468A1 (en) * | 2010-03-15 | 2011-09-22 | Advanced Bionics Ag | Hearing aid and method of implanting a hearing aid |
| KR20130136996A (en) | 2010-10-08 | 2013-12-13 | 솔리다고 에스.에이.알.엘 | Implantable actuator for hearing applications |
| US9729981B2 (en) | 2011-05-12 | 2017-08-08 | Cochlear Limited | Identifying hearing prosthesis actuator resonance peak(s) |
| US9900709B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2018-02-20 | Cochlear Limited | Determining impedance-related phenomena in vibrating actuator and identifying device system characteristics based thereon |
| US10321247B2 (en) | 2015-11-27 | 2019-06-11 | Cochlear Limited | External component with inductance and mechanical vibratory functionality |
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| FR712903A (en) * | 1931-02-17 | 1931-10-26 | Acoustic horn for hard of hearing people | |
| GB1440724A (en) * | 1972-07-18 | 1976-06-23 | Fredrickson J M | Implantable electromagnetic hearing aid |
| US3882285A (en) * | 1973-10-09 | 1975-05-06 | Vicon Instr Company | Implantable hearing aid and method of improving hearing |
| US4628907A (en) * | 1984-03-22 | 1986-12-16 | Epley John M | Direct contact hearing aid apparatus |
| DE4104358A1 (en) * | 1991-02-13 | 1992-08-20 | Implex Gmbh | IMPLANTABLE HOER DEVICE FOR EXCITING THE INNER EAR |
| US5282858A (en) * | 1991-06-17 | 1994-02-01 | American Cyanamid Company | Hermetically sealed implantable transducer |
| DE4221866C2 (en) * | 1992-07-03 | 1994-06-23 | Guenter Hortmann | Hearing aid for stimulating the inner ear |
| US5624376A (en) * | 1993-07-01 | 1997-04-29 | Symphonix Devices, Inc. | Implantable and external hearing systems having a floating mass transducer |
| US5554096A (en) * | 1993-07-01 | 1996-09-10 | Symphonix | Implantable electromagnetic hearing transducer |
| US5558618A (en) * | 1995-01-23 | 1996-09-24 | Maniglia; Anthony J. | Semi-implantable middle ear hearing device |
| US5772575A (en) * | 1995-09-22 | 1998-06-30 | S. George Lesinski | Implantable hearing aid |
-
1998
- 1998-09-03 DE DE19840212A patent/DE19840212C2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1998-11-12 DK DK98121495.0T patent/DK0984663T3/en active
- 1998-11-12 EP EP98121495A patent/EP0984663B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1998-11-12 DE DE59814473T patent/DE59814473D1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1999
- 1999-03-25 US US09/275,872 patent/US6162169A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1999-03-30 AU AU22508/99A patent/AU760815B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1999-06-11 CA CA002274211A patent/CA2274211C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0984663B1 (en) | 2010-10-27 |
| EP0984663A2 (en) | 2000-03-08 |
| DE59814473D1 (en) | 2010-12-09 |
| DE19840212C2 (en) | 2001-08-02 |
| DK0984663T3 (en) | 2011-02-14 |
| AU760815B2 (en) | 2003-05-22 |
| CA2274211A1 (en) | 2000-03-03 |
| EP0984663A3 (en) | 2006-05-17 |
| AU2250899A (en) | 2000-03-16 |
| DE19840212A1 (en) | 2000-03-23 |
| US6162169A (en) | 2000-12-19 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |
Effective date: 20140611 |
|
| MKLA | Lapsed |
Effective date: 20140611 |