Abstract: An exemplary system includes a sensor configured to output sensor data and a hearing device comprising a processor. The processor of the hearing device may be configured to detect, based on the sensor data, a triggering event that occurs during use of the hearing device by a recipient of the hearing device. The triggering event may be indicative of possible damage to at least one of the hearing device or the recipient. The processor may further, apply, in response to the detecting of the triggering event, stimulation to the recipient, detect a signal that occurs in response to the stimulation and that is recorded by an electrode associated with the hearing device, compare the signal to a baseline signal recorded by the electrode prior to the triggering event, and determine, based on the comparing of the signal to the baseline signal, an operational effectiveness state of the hearing device.

Abstract: A cochlear implant headpiece in accordance with one of the present inventions includes a housing including a top wall, a bottom wall and a receptacle that extends from the top wall to the bottom wall, that defines an open top end, an open bottom end and a central axis, and that includes a receptacle lock member, a magnet apparatus defining a bottom and including a magnet and a magnet apparatus lock member, and a headpiece antenna on or within the housing. The respective configurations of the receptacle and the magnet apparatus are such that the magnet apparatus can be inserted into the receptacle and, when fully inserted into the receptacle, the magnet apparatus bottom is located within or downwardly beyond the open bottom end of the receptacle. The respective configurations of the receptacle lock member and the magnet apparatus lock member are such that the fully inserted magnet apparatus will be fixed in one of a plurality of rotational orientations around the central axis.

Abstract: An electronics and antenna assembly is disclosed for use with a medical implant.

Abstract: An illustrative insertion management system may be configured to provide, as a first input to a machine learning model, geometric model data specific to a recipient of a cochlear implant and representative of a geometrical model of a cochlea of the recipient, provide, as a second input to the machine learning model, procedure data representative of one or more contextual attributes of a lead insertion procedure in which an electrode lead is inserted to the cochlea of the recipient, and generate, based on an output of the machine learning model that takes into account the geometric model data and the procedure data, procedure assistance data configured to assist a user in performing the lead insertion procedure.

Abstract: A method including the steps of securing a plurality of contact subassemblies to a mold surface at longitudinally spaced locations within a mold with resilient material located between the contact subassemblies and the mold surface, the contact subassemblies including, prior to being placed into the mold, an electrically conductive contact having a flat portion defining lateral ends and side portions associated with the lateral ends of the flat portion and a lead wire secured to the electrically conductive contact, introducing resilient material into the mold to form an electrode array blank including a flexible body defining an exterior surface and the electrically conductive contacts below the exterior, and forming a plurality of windows in the electrode array blank that extend through the exterior surface of the flexible body to the electrically conductive contacts.

Abstract: A diagnostic system is disclosed that is configured to direct an acoustic stimulation generator to apply acoustic stimulation having a stimulus frequency to a recipient of a cochlear implant during an insertion procedure in which an electrode lead communicatively coupled to the cochlear implant is inserted into a cochlea of the recipient, direct the cochlear implant to use an electrode disposed on the electrode lead to record an evoked response signal during the insertion procedure, the evoked response signal representing amplitudes of a plurality of evoked responses that occur within the recipient in response to the acoustic stimulation applied to the recipient, and incrementally step, as the electrode lead is inserted into the values starting with an initial value and ending with a final value lower than the initial value.

Abstract: An illustrative electroacoustic hearing system includes a loudspeaker and a processor configured to: direct the loudspeaker to present a sound to a recipient by way of a length of tubing extending from the loudspeaker to an ear tip disposed at an ear canal of the recipient, the directing configured to cause the sound to have a target sound pressure level at the ear canal; obtain a detected sound pressure level of the sound as the sound is presented at the ear canal, the detected sound pressure level obtained from a probe microphone disposed within the ear tip; identify a discrepancy between the detected and target sound pressure levels of the sound as the sound is presented at the ear canal; and direct, based on the identified discrepancy, a remedial action to be performed to compensate for the discrepancy.

Abstract: An exemplary system directs a display screen to display a graphical user interface that includes a selectable option to perform an electrode sweep with respect to a plurality of electrodes disposed on an electrode lead implanted at least partially within a cochlea of a recipient of a cochlear implant, detects a selection by a user of the option, directs, in response to the selection of the option, an acoustic stimulation generator to apply acoustic stimulation having a frequency to the recipient, directs the cochlear implant to use each electrode included in the plurality of electrodes to record an evoked response measurement in response to the acoustic stimulation, determines an amplitude of each of the evoked response measurements recorded by the plurality of electrodes, and presents, within the graphical user interface, a tuning curve that graphically indicates the amplitudes of the evoked response measurements.

Abstract: An exemplary diagnostic system is configured to direct an acoustic stimulation generator to an acoustic stimulation generator to apply acoustic stimulation having a plurality of stimulus frequencies to a recipient of a cochlear implant during an insertion procedure in which an electrode lead communicatively coupled to the cochlear implant is inserted into a cochlea of the recipient, direct the cochlear implant to use an electrode disposed on the electrode lead to record a plurality of evoked response signals during the insertion procedure, each evoked response signal included in the plurality of evoked response signals corresponding to a different stimulus frequency included in the plurality of stimulus frequencies, and determine, based on an amplitude and a phase of each of one or more evoked response signals included in the plurality of evoked response signals, an insertion state of the electrode lead within the cochlea of the recipient.

Abstract: A system including a cochlear implant with a cochlear lead including a plurality of electrodes, an antenna, a stimulation processor operably connected to the antenna and to the cochlear lead, and a magnet apparatus, adjacent to the antenna, including a case defining a central axis, a frame within the case and rotatable relative to the case about the central axis of the case, and only two elongate diametrically magnetized magnets that are located in the frame, that are separated from one another by a fixed non-zero distance, that each define a longitudinal axis and a N-S direction, and that are rotatable about the longitudinal axis relative to the frame, and an external device including an axially magnetized disk-shaped positioning magnet and an antenna adjacent to the axially magnetized disk-shaped positioning magnet.

Abstract: A cochlear including a housing, an antenna, a stimulation processor operably connected to the antenna, and an electrode array, operably connected to the stimulation processor, including a flexible body defining a longitudinal axis, a proximal region and a distal region, a plurality of electrically conductive contacts on the flexible body, and at least one stiffener within the flexible body.

Abstract: An exemplary sound processor is configured to direct a cochlear implant to apply standard electrical stimulation representative of frequencies in an audio signal that are within an upper region to a cochlea of a first ear of a recipient by way of a plurality of electrodes in accordance with a frequency allocation table that maps frequencies in the upper region of the audible frequency range of the recipient to the plurality of electrodes, the upper region of the audible frequency range comprising frequencies above and including a cutoff frequency, and direct the cochlear implant to apply electrical stimulation representative of frequencies in the audio signal that are within a lower region of the audible frequency range to the cochlea of the first ear by way of a most apical electrode and one or more compensating electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes in accordance with an electrode stimulation configuration.

Abstract: A system may include a device configured to be implanted within a recipient and that includes an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit may include a first node configured to provide a bandgap reference voltage and a second node configured to provide a CTAT voltage. The first node may be coupled to a first input of an ADC and the second node may be coupled to a second input of the ADC. The system may also include a processor communicatively coupled to an output of the ADC. The processor may be configured to determine, based on the output of the ADC, the CTAT voltage. The processor may be further configured to determine, based on the CTAT voltage, a temperature of the device.

Abstract: A cochlear including a cochlear lead, a housing including a magnet pocket and a magnet aperture, a magnet, located within the magnet pocket, having a top surface adjacent to the magnet aperture that defines a top magnet outer perimeter and a bottom surface adjacent to the bottom wall that defines a bottom magnet outer perimeter that is greater than the top magnet outer perimeter, an antenna within the housing, a stimulation processor within the housing.

Abstract: An illustrative system includes a stimulation device configured to apply stimulation to a recipient, a sensing device configured to detect a physiological condition of the recipient, and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the stimulation device and the sensing device. The processing unit determines a stimulation strategy that is customized to the recipient and includes stimulation frames and stimulation gaps. The processing unit then directs the stimulation device to apply the stimulation to the recipient in accordance with the stimulation strategy by applying the stimulation only during time that corresponds to the stimulation frames. The processing unit also directs the sensing device to detect the physiological condition of the recipient in accordance with the stimulation strategy by detecting only during time that corresponds to the stimulation gaps. Based on the detected physiological condition, the processing unit performs an action.

Abstract: A headpiece including a housing, a headpiece magnet carried by the housing, and a headpiece antenna carried by the housing.

Abstract: An exemplary apparatus includes tubing that physically couples to an acoustic stimulation generator generating sound waves representative of acoustic stimulation used to obtain an audiometric measurement with respect to a patient. The tubing provides a first portion of a sound propagation channel from the acoustic stimulation generator to an ear canal of the patient. The apparatus further includes an ear tip disposed at the ear canal and including an external portion and an internal portion that couples to the tubing to provide a second portion of the sound propagation channel. The apparatus also includes a permanent bend associated with a coupling between the tubing and the ear tip. The permanent bend is disposed immediately outside the ear canal of the patient so as to angle the tubing toward a pinna of the patient without obstructing the sound propagation channel. Systems employing this exemplary apparatus are also disclosed.

Abstract: An illustrative system includes a sound processor configured to be worn by a patient and to direct a cochlear implant implanted within the patient to apply electrical stimulation to the patient; and a conductive contact configured to detect a signal representative of an evoked response generated by a brain of the patient, the conductive contact integrated with the sound processor so as to be located between the sound processor and an external surface of a head of the patient while the sound processor is worn by the patient.

Abstract: An exemplary spatial enhancement system performs frequency-specific localization and speech comprehension enhancement. Specifically, the system receives an audio signal presented to a recipient of a hearing device, and generates, based on the audio signal, a first frequency signal and a second frequency signal. The first frequency signal includes a portion of the audio signal associated with a first frequency range, and the second frequency signal includes a portion of the audio signal associated with a second frequency range. Based on the first and second frequency signals, the system generates an output frequency signal that is associated with the first and second frequency ranges and that is configured for use by the hearing device in stimulating aural perception by the recipient. This generating of the output frequency signal includes processing the first frequency signal to apply a localization enhancement and processing the second frequency signal to apply a speech comprehension enhancement.

Abstract: An exemplary electrode lead includes a flexible body formed of a flexible insulating material and that comprises a fantail region that connects to a cochlear implant configured to be implanted within a recipient and that extends to a ground electrode located toward a proximal end of the electrode lead, an electrode contact disposed on a side of the flexible body, a coiled electrode wire provided within the flexible body so as to extend along a length of the flexible body and electrically connect the electrode contact to a signal source, and a coiled reinforcing element provided within the flexible body so as to extend together with the coiled electrode wire along the length of the flexible body. The coiled reinforcing element may only be provided within a proximal portion of the electrode lead. Corresponding methods of manufacturing an electrode lead are also described.