Patents Assigned to Cochlear Limited
  • Patent number: 11595763
    Abstract: Presented herein are techniques for monitoring the sensory outcome of a recipient of a sensory prosthesis in an ambient environment that includes one or more controllable network connected devices. The sensory outcome of the recipient in the environment is used to make operational changes to the one or more controllable network connected devices in order to create an improved environment for recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Stephen Fung, Alexander von Brasch
  • Patent number: 11595768
    Abstract: An external component of a prosthesis, including a first module including a functional component and first structure including magnetic material. The first module is configured to be retained against skin via a magnetic field at least partially generated by a magnet implanted in a recipient that interacts with the magnetic material of the first structure, the first module including a skin interfacing surface configured to interact with skin of the recipient when the first module is retained against the skin of the recipient, a second module including a second structure including magnetic material configured to enhance magnetic retention of the external component to skin of a recipient, wherein the second module is removably attached to the first module and visible from an outside of the external component when the second module is attached to the first module and when viewed from a side opposite the skin interfacing side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Johan Gustafsson, Oliver Ridler
  • Patent number: 11590349
    Abstract: Systems and methods for performing non-obtrusive, automatic adjustment of an auditory prosthesis are disclosed. A control expression can be detected during a conversation. Upon detection of the control expression, an audio setting adjustment can be selected and applied to the auditory prosthesis. Multiple adjustments can be made in response to identifying multiple control expressions during a conversation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: COCHLEAR LIMITED
    Inventor: Martin Evert Gustaf Hillbratt
  • Patent number: 11590343
    Abstract: A method, including energizing one or more electrodes of a cochlear electrode array to induce a current flow in the cochlea at a plurality of temporal locations, measuring one or more electrical properties at one or more locations in the cochlea resulting from the induced current flow at the plurality of different temporal locations and determining whether or not trauma has occurred based on a change between the measured electrical properties from the first temporal location to the second temporal location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: John Michael Heasman, Peter Gibson, Riaan Rottier, Mary-Beth Brinson, Stephen John O'Leary, Christofer William Bester
  • Patent number: 11577087
    Abstract: Embodiments presented herein are generally directed to techniques for separately transferring power and data from an external device to an implantable component of a partially or fully implantable medical device. The separated power and data transfer techniques use a single external coil and a single implantable coil. The external coil is part of an external resonant circuit, while the implantable coil is part of an implantable resonant circuit. The external coil is configured to transcutaneously transfer power and data to the implantable coil using separate (different) power and data time slots. At least one of the external or internal resonant circuit is substantially more damped during the data time slot than during the power time slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventor: Werner Meskens
  • Patent number: 11577078
    Abstract: An improved implantable auditory stimulation system includes two or more implanted microphones for transcutaneous detection of acoustic signals. Each of the implanted microphones provides an output signal. The microphone output signals may be combinatively utilized by an implanted processor to generate a signal for driving an implanted auditory stimulation device. The implanted microphones may be located at offset subcutaneous locations and/or may be provided with different design sensitivities, wherein combinative processing of the microphone output signals may yield an improved drive signal. In one embodiment, the microphone signal may be processed for beamforming and/or directionality purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Brian M. Conn, Jose H. Bedoya
  • Patent number: 11582568
    Abstract: A prosthesis including an abutment, an operationally removable component including a coupling apparatus, and an adapter, wherein the abutment is connected to the adapter and the coupling apparatus of the operationally removable component is releasably coupled to the adapter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventor: Marcus Andersson
  • Patent number: 11570552
    Abstract: A bone conduction device including an external component, the external component comprising a sound processor and transducer, the transducer configured to generate mechanical forces, and the external component configured for positioning behind a recipient's ear such that the mechanical forces are transmitted from the external component to a recipient's bone to generate a hearing percept via bone conduction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventor: John Parker
  • Patent number: 11553290
    Abstract: Presented herein are implantable sound sensors that include a non-uniform diaphragm mechanically coupled to a vibrating structure of a recipient's middle or inner ear. The non-uniform diaphragm includes a central region and a peripheral region, where the thickness of the central region is greater than the thickness of the peripheral region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Koen Erik Van den Heuvel, Jan Vermeiren, Rishubh Verma, Antonin Rambault
  • Patent number: 11547854
    Abstract: A neural stimulator, suitable for implanting in a recipient, and configured to combine vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) with cochlear stimulation, to result in faster adaptation to new sounds and maps, and alleviation of tinnitus in the recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventor: Paul Michael Carter
  • Patent number: 11546731
    Abstract: Techniques for locating a misplaced primary wireless device (within a spatial region. In particular, the techniques presented herein use a secondary wireless device to collect a plurality of multivariate wireless data points within the spatial region. An artificially intelligent search algorithm analyzes the plurality of multivariate wireless data points to estimate the location of the wireless device. Directional instructions that guide the user to the estimated location of the primary wireless device are generated and then provided to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Hieu Lee, Daniel Ross Smith, Ryan Orin Melman, Ricardo Sarmiento
  • Patent number: 11546708
    Abstract: An external component of a bone conduction device, including a vibrator and a platform configured to transfer vibrations from the vibrator to skin of the recipient, wherein the vibrator and platform are configured to quick connect and quick disconnect to and from, respectively, one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: David Nathan Morris, Marcus Andersson, Göran Björn, Kristian Gunnar Asnes, Carl Van Himbeeck
  • Patent number: 11540069
    Abstract: Presented herein are techniques that make use of objective measurements obtained in response to acoustic stimulation signals. More specifically, at least one measure of outer hair cell function and at least one measure of auditory nerve function are obtained from a tonotopic region of an inner ear of a recipient of a hearing prosthesis. The at least one measure of auditory nerve function and the least one measure of outer hair cell function are then analyzed relative to one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: John Michael Heasman, Kerrie Plant, Peter Gibson, Stephen O'Leary, Luke Campbell
  • Patent number: 11540062
    Abstract: A system, including a first housing containing a speech processor that receives signals output by a microphone of the hearing prosthesis, a second housing removably connectable to the first housing at a bottom of the first housing, the bottom being at a first end of the first housing that is a wider end relative to a second end of the first housing opposite the first end and a first device removably connectable to the first housing when the second housing is disconnected from the first housing, wherein the first housing is part of a behind-the-ear (BTE) device, the second housing is part of a second device, and the system is a cochlear implant hearing prosthesis system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Gunther Van Der Borght, Jan Janssen
  • Patent number: 11528565
    Abstract: A method performed by an electronic controller includes determining a charge level of a power supply configured to provide power to a medical device, and estimating, based on the charge level of the power supply, a first power supply life for operating the medical device according to a first mode. Further, the method includes estimating, based on the charge level of the power supply, a second power supply life for operating the medical device according to a second mode. As recited, operating the medical device according to the first mode has a different power use or consumption characteristic from operating the medical device according to the second mode. The method also includes generating a notification indicative of the first power supply life and the second power supply life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Michael Goorevich, Kenneth Oplinger, Zachary Smith
  • Patent number: 11528567
    Abstract: A hearing prosthesis, the hearing prosthesis including a plurality of sound capture devices and a determinator configured to generate a parameter indicative of an orientation of the plurality of sound capture devices relative to a reference, wherein the hearing prosthesis is configured to adjust a direction of focus of the hearing prosthesis based on at least the parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Oliver Ridler, Martin James Cosenza
  • Patent number: 11523227
    Abstract: An apparatus includes at least one housing configured to be implanted within a body of a recipient, at least one acoustic transducer positioned on or within the at least one housing, at least one motion sensor positioned on or within the at least one housing, gain circuitry configured to apply a gain to transducer output signals from the at least one acoustic transducer, at least one storage device, and at least one processor operatively coupled to the at least one acoustic transducer, the at least one motion sensor, the gain circuitry, and the at least one storage device. The at least one processor is configured to adjust the gain circuitry in response to a reference acoustic sensitivity function, a reference vibration response function, the transducer output signals, and sensor output signals from the at least one motion sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventor: Thomas Leroux
  • Patent number: 11510015
    Abstract: Presented herein are techniques for enhancing a hearing prosthesis recipient's perception of multiple frequencies present in received sound signals. The hearing prosthesis is configured to extract a plurality of frequencies from the received sound signals and to use the plurality of frequencies to modulate the amplitudes of different stimulation pulse sequences that are to be delivered to the recipient via different stimulation channels. The hearing prosthesis may also adapt a stimulation resolution of the stimulation pulse sequences when delivering the modulated stimulation pulses sequences to the recipient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Naomi Croghan, Harish Krishnamoorthi, Zachary Mark Smith
  • Patent number: 11510014
    Abstract: Presented herein are techniques that use acoustic scene (environmental) analysis to determine the sound class of sound signals received at a hearing prosthesis and, accordingly, assess the estimated listening difficulty that the acoustic environment presents to a recipient of the hearing prosthesis. This difficulty of the recipient's listening situation can be used to adjust, adapt, or otherwise set the resolution of the electrical stimulation signals delivered to the recipient to evoke perception of the sound signals. In other words, the resolution of the electrical stimulation signals is dynamically adapted based on the present acoustic environment of the hearing prosthesis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventor: Zachary Mark Smith
  • Patent number: 11503413
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for customizing an auditory prosthesis or other medical device. Customizing the auditory prosthesis includes obtaining and evaluating system data. The system data includes data from multiple sensors, including one or more sensors of an auditory prosthesis and one or more sensors of a recipient computing device. Based on the evaluation of the system data, a target behavior is determined, such as operating the auditory prosthesis in a particular sonic environment or with particular auditory prosthesis settings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Jan Patrick Frieding, Carl Uvesten, Fredrik Breitholtz, Nicholas Feeney