Patents Assigned to Advanced Bionics, LLC
  • Publication number: 20250128057
    Abstract: An exemplary assembly may be adapted for insertion into a cochlea. The assembly may comprise a tubular element and an electrode lead having a flexible body and one or more electrode contacts located on the flexible body. The tubular element may comprise a lumen that extends along a length of the flexible body; and a plurality of fiber windings that wrap around and extend along the length of the tubular element. The plurality of fiber windings may include a first section having a first winding configuration and second section having a second winding configuration. In response to application of pressure within the lumen, the first section is configured to move in a first manner based on the first winding configuration and the second section is configured to move in a second manner based on the second winding configuration such that the electrode lead is steerable during insertion into the cochlea.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2023
    Publication date: April 24, 2025
    Applicant: Advanced Bionics LLC
    Inventors: Stephan Geiger, Martin Grossoehmichen
  • Patent number: 9668068
    Abstract: A system and method for generating a beamforming signal is disclosed. A beam forming signal is generated by disposing a first microphone and a second microphone in horizontal coplanar alignment. The first and second microphones are used to detect a known signal to generate a first response and a second response. The first response is processed along a first signal path communicatively linked to the first microphone, and the second response is processed along a second signal path communicatively linked to the second microphone. The first and second responses are matched, and the matched responses are combined to generate the beamforming signal on a combined signal path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Michael A. Faltys, Abhijit Kulkarni, Scott A. Crawford
  • Patent number: 9492654
    Abstract: A cochlear lead includes a plurality of electrodes configured to stimulate an auditory nerve from within a cochlea and a flexible body supporting the plurality of electrodes along a length of the flexible body. A stiffening element is slidably encapsulated within the flexible body, the stiffening element extending past a most distal electrode at the tip of the cochlear lead, wherein a distal portion of the stiffening element plastically deforms upon insertion into a curved portion of the cochlea.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics LLC.
    Inventors: Chuladatta Thenuwara, Mark Downing
  • Publication number: 20160096013
    Abstract: A stylet for inserting an electrode array into a cochlea includes a first sensor insertable within a lumen of the electrode array and sensitive to force applied by a lumen wall to the first sensor and a first actuator adapted to move the electrode array in response to the force sensed by the first sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Publication date: April 7, 2016
    Applicant: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Marco Tortonese, Timothy Beerling, Matthew I. Haller
  • Publication number: 20150231390
    Abstract: A cochlear lead includes a plurality of electrodes configured to stimulate an auditory nerve from within a cochlea and a flexible body supporting the plurality of electrodes along a length of the flexible body. A stiffening element is slidably encapsulated within the flexible body, the stiffening element extending past a most distal electrode at the tip of the cochlear lead, wherein a distal portion of the stiffening element plastically deforms upon insertion into a curved portion of the cochlea.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2015
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Applicant: Advanced Bionics LLC.
    Inventors: Chuladatta Thenuwara, Mark Downing
  • Patent number: 8897894
    Abstract: A microcircuit integrated cochlear electrode array and a process for the manufacture thereof, the electrode array comprising a multiconductor tail portion with longitudinally spaced outwardly exposed electrode receiving pads and a flat multiconductor head portion connected to the tail portion and having spaced outwardly exposed circuit attachment pads, the tail and head portions being laminated between a nonconductive film substrate and an insulating cover and the tail portion being helically wrapped into a helix with the electrode receiving circuit attachment pads exposed and carrying ring electrodes overmolded with a suitable polymeric material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics LLC
    Inventor: William G. Orinski
  • Patent number: 8880193
    Abstract: A method for forming a cochlear electrode array with a plurality of electrodes which are spaced so as to stimulate sites within a cochlea includes shaping a sheet of electrically conductive material to form a support structure and a plurality of electrodes, in which the electrodes are tethered to the support structure at the spacing of the cochlear electrode array. A cochlear lead includes a flexible body that has frictional characteristics that vary about its circumference. A cochlear lead includes a flexible body with a first region and a second region with different surface textures. This generates differential sliding forces during insertion of the cochlear lead which influence a motion of the cochlear lead during insertion. The cochlear lead having an electrode array with varying stiffness along its length is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Chuladatta Thenuwara, Timothy Beerling
  • Patent number: 8825171
    Abstract: An impact resistant implantable antenna coil assembly comprising a flat antenna coil having a plurality of laterally separated turns of wire encapsulated with a non-orthogonal force absorbing coil reinforcement in a flexible biocompatible polymer and axially anchored with the reinforcement to a feedthrough case. Thus configured, non-orthogonal impact forces applied to the antenna coil assembly are absorbed and lateral components thereof that would otherwise be reflected as tensile forces in the plane of the coil are prevented from forming or from fracturing wire within the antenna coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Chuladatta Thenuwara, William A. Morgan, Janusz A. Kuzma
  • Patent number: 8768476
    Abstract: An exemplary method includes 1) identifying, by a cochlear implant system, an electrode included within an array of electrodes as being a disabled electrode, 2) selecting, by the cochlear implant system, at least two non-adjacent electrodes surrounding the disabled electrode, and 3) simultaneously applying, by the cochlear implant system, stimulation current to the at least two non-adjacent electrodes to compensate for a loss of stimulation resulting from the disabled electrode. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Aniket Saoji, Leonid M. Litvak
  • Patent number: 8768475
    Abstract: An exemplary system includes 1) a sound processor configured to divide an audio signal into a plurality of analysis channels, wherein each of the analysis channels contains information corresponding to a distinct frequency band of the audio signal, and wherein one of the analysis channels contains fine structure information corresponding to the audio signal, and 2) an implantable cochlear stimulator configured to generate electrical stimulation in accordance with the information contained within each of the analysis channels, apply the electrical stimulation to at least one stimulation site within a patient via a plurality of stimulation channels, each of the stimulation channels corresponding to one of the analysis channels and configured to convey the information contained within the analysis channels to the patient via at least one electrode, and at least partially isolate one of the stimulation channels from a rest of the stimulation channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Leonid M. Litvak, Aniket Saoji, Anthony J. Spahr, Edward H. Overstreet
  • Patent number: 8565890
    Abstract: A cochlear implant processing strategy increases speech clarity and higher temporal performance. The strategy determines the power spectral component within each channel, and dynamically selects or de-selects the channels through which a stimulation pulse is provided as a function of whether the spectral power of the channel is high or low. “High” and “low” are estimated relative to a selected spectral power, for example. The selected spectral power can be estimated by signal average or mean, or by other criteria. Once a selection of the channels to stimulate has been made, the system can decide that only those channels are stimulated, and stimulation is removed from the other channels. The selected channels are the ones on which the spectral power is above the mean of all the available channels. Fewer channels are stimulated at any time and the contrast of the stimulation is enhanced. Also, the temporal resolution increases as the number of channels that must be stimulated on a given frame decreases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventor: Gene Y Fridman
  • Publication number: 20130253609
    Abstract: An exemplary system includes a sound processor configured to identify one or more spectral peaks of an audio signal presented to a cochlear implant patient and an implantable cochlear stimulator communicatively coupled to the sound processor and configured to apply electrical stimulation representative of the one or more spectral peaks to at least one stimulation site within the cochlear implant patient using a partial multipolar stimulation configuration and apply electrical stimulation representative of one or more other spectral components of the audio signal to at least one other stimulation site within the cochlear implant patient using a monopolar stimulation configuration. Corresponding systems methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Aniket Saoji, Leonid M. Litvak
  • Patent number: 8532781
    Abstract: Exemplary methods and systems of generating a graphical representation of an intracochlear trajectory of electrodes include using electrical field imaging to generate an electrical field spread curve for each of a plurality of electrodes contained within an electrode array at least partially inserted within a cochlear implant patient and generating a graphical representation of an intracochlear trajectory of the electrodes based on the electrical field spread curves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventor: Filiep J. Vanpoucke
  • Patent number: 8527058
    Abstract: An exemplary method includes a sound processing unit 1) directing an implantable cochlear stimulator coupled to a plurality of electrodes to generate an electrical stimulation current in accordance with one or more stimulation parameters, 2) automatically detecting an impedance of at least one of the electrodes, and 3) directing, in accordance with the detected impedance, the implantable cochlear stimulator to adjust a pulse width of the electrical stimulation current to maintain constant a total electric charge level of the electrical stimulation current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Advance Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Abhijit Kulkarni, Lakshmi N. Mishra, Leonid M. Litvak, Mark B. Downing, Aniket Saoji, Patrick T. Wong
  • Patent number: 8515112
    Abstract: A cochlear implant system includes: an electrode array implanted within a cochlea; an internal processor in communication with the electrode array; an implanted antenna which is electrically coupled to the internal processor; and a modular external headpiece which is removably positioned over the implanted antenna, the modular external headpiece including a core containing a sound processor for processing sound and providing a corresponding signal to the implanted antenna; and a modular component configured to releasably engage the core and supply electrical power to the core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Scott A. Crawford, Douglas P. Lynch, Carla Mann Woods
  • Patent number: 8509907
    Abstract: An exemplary method includes 1) applying a main current to a first electrode disposed within a patient and associated with a first pitch, 2) concurrently applying a compensation current to a second electrode disposed within the patient and associated with a second pitch during the application of the main current, the compensation current being out-of-phase with the main current, and 3) optimizing an amount of the compensation current to result in a target pitch being presented to the patient that is distanced from the first pitch in a pitch direction opposite a pitch direction of the second pitch in relation to the first pitch. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Leonid M. Litvak, Aniket Saoji
  • Patent number: 8498714
    Abstract: An exemplary method of conveying fine structure information to a cochlear implant patient includes dividing an audio signal into a plurality of analysis channels, generating electrical stimulation in accordance with the information contained within each of the analysis channels, applying the electrical stimulation to at least one stimulation site within a patient via a plurality of stimulation channels, and at least partially isolating one of the stimulation channels from a rest of the stimulation channels, wherein fine structure information is conveyed to the patient via the isolated stimulation channel. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Leonid M. Litvak, Aniket Saoji, Anthony J. Spahr, Edward Overstreet
  • Patent number: 8467881
    Abstract: An exemplary method of representing different spectral components of an audio signal presented to a cochlear implant patient includes identifying one or more spectral peaks of an audio signal presented to a cochlear implant patient, applying electrical stimulation representative of the one or more spectral peaks to at least one stimulation site within the cochlear implant patient using a partial multipolar stimulation configuration, and applying electrical stimulation representative of one or more other spectral components of the audio signal to at least one other stimulation site within the cochlear implant patient using a monopolar stimulation configuration. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Aniket Saoji, Leonid M. Litvak
  • Patent number: 8452421
    Abstract: An exemplary insertion tool configured to facilitate insertion of a lead into a bodily orifice includes a handle assembly configured to facilitate handling of the insertion tool, an insertion assembly coupled to the handle assembly and comprising a rigid holding tube configured to removably couple to a portion of the lead, and a release assembly disposed at least partially within the handle assembly and comprising a release button. The release assembly is configured to release the lead from the holding tube in response to user actuation of the release button. Corresponding insertion tools, systems, and methods are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: Chuladatta Thenuwara, Thomas H. R. Lenarz, Mark Downing
  • Patent number: D683029
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics, LLC
    Inventors: James P. Goodman, Cameron Smith, Bryan Cabatic, Adam Smith, Adam Weisgerber