Abstract: Arrangements are described for monitoring cochlear implantation surgery. During surgical insertion of a cochlear implant electrode array into a patient cochlea, at least one measurement difference value is determined for at least one electrode contact currently located at a given insertion depth into the patient cochlea based on comparing current stimulus response data for the at least one electrode contact to prior stimulus response data for at least one prior electrode contact previously located at the given insertion depth. A potential trauma response is identified when the at least one measurement difference value exceeds a defined difference value.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A system and method of eliciting a swallowing reflex in a human subject. Stimulation signals are generated for eliciting a full swallowing reflex when applied to skin overlying a region of thyroid cartilage in the neck. The stimulation signals delivered via surface electrodes to the skin overlying at least the region of thyroid cartilage in the neck to elicit the full swallowing reflex in the human subject.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an implantable hearing implant, such as cochlear implants. The implantable hearing implant includes an implant device containing signal processing circuitry configured to receive an implant communications signal transmitted from an external transmitting coil. The implantable hearing implant further includes an implant magnet configured to cooperate with a corresponding external holding magnet in an external device located over the overlying skin to magnetically hold the external device against the overlying skin. The implant magnet has a north magnetic pole, a south magnetic pole, and as a whole has an overall magnetic dipole moment that is parallel to or at an angle of 30° or less with respect to the outermost surface. The implant magnet has a north end portion and a south end portion, each having an individual magnetic dipole moment that is inclined with respect to the overall magnetic dipole moment.

Abstract: An electrode guide device is described for inserting a cochlear implant electrode array into a scala tympany of a patient cochlea has an electrode guide tube and an end positioner at least partially contained within a cavity of the guide tube at the distal end and slidable within the cavity for adjustable extension beyond the distal end. The end positioner has a natural curvature that is constrained by the cavity of the guide tube for any portion contained within the cavity of the guide tube, and any portion of the end positioner extended beyond the distal end follows the natural curvature. The electrode array can be introduced through the groove of the guide tube along a first directional line towards an electrode opening in the patient cochlea, and then the distal end of electrode array emerging from the guide tube is redirected by the extension of the end positioner along a different second directional line through the electrode opening.

Abstract: Approaches are described for adjusting a cochlear implant system that has an electrode array with multiple electrode contacts, which is implanted in a patient. For selected individual electrode contacts, a corresponding channel-specific monoaural interaction component (MIC) score is calculated that represents a channel interaction factor based on a ratio of: i. an electrically evoked auditory brain-stem response (cABR) measurement of an electrical stimulation signal applied to the individual electrode contact, and ii. a sum of individual eABR measurements from simultaneous electrical stimulation of selected electrode contacts nearest to the individual electrode contact. Each electrode contact having a channel-specific MIC score below a MIC score threshold value is then deactivated, whereby electrical stimulation signals are not delivered to deactivated electrode contacts.

Abstract: A magnet arrangement for a hearing implant device is described. A magnet case is contained within an implantable device and has a central case axis of symmetry that is perpendicular to the outermost surface of the implantable device. The magnet case is configured to be freely rotatable within the implantable device about the case axis of symmetry. An implant magnet is contained within the magnet case and consists of a single cylindrical magnet having a central magnet axis of symmetry perpendicular to the case axis of symmetry. The implant magnet is configured to be freely rotatable within the magnet case about the magnet axis of symmetry.

Abstract: A surgical guide tool and methodology includes a non patient-specific platform including one or more supports for attaching to a body part of a subject. A non patient-specific block has a top planar surface and a bottom planar surface, and includes a guide aperture extending from the top planar surface to the bottom planar surface for guiding a surgical instrument in making at least one of a cut and a drill hole. An intermediate module is removably positioned between the platform and the block. The intermediate module has patient-specific dimensions such that the guide aperture has a desired alignment relative to the body part when the surgical guide tool is attached to the body part of the patient and the intermediate module is positioned between the platform and the block.

Abstract: A magnetic system for a medical implant system is described. A planar implant receiver coil is configured to lie underneath and parallel to overlying skin of an implanted patient for transcutaneous communication of an implant communications signal. A planar ring-shaped attachment magnet also is configured to lie underneath and parallel to the overlying skin and radially surrounds the receiver coil. The attachment magnet is characterized by a magnetic field configured to avoid creating torque on the attachment magnet in the presence of an external magnetic field.

Abstract: An implantable electrode arrangement for a cochlear implant system includes an elongated electrode array for insertion into a patient cochlea. A fluid delivery channel is located within the electrode array parallel to a central longitudinal axis with at least one fluid delivery port for delivering lubricant fluid from the fluid delivery channel to the outer surface of the electrode array. The fluid delivery port and the lubricant fluid are configured to produce a lubrication region close to the outer surface of the electrode array proximal to the fluid delivery port during insertion of the electrode array into the patient cochlea so as to reduce insertion resistance at an adjacent section of lateral wall of the patient cochlea.

Abstract: A bilateral hearing implant system has a left side and a right side. Left and right side filter bank pre-processors preprocess left and right microphone signals to generate band pass signals for each side. A bilateral signal processing arrangement processes the band pass signals in a time sequence of stimulation frames. The signal processing module includes a bilateral channel selection module synchronously selects for each stimulation frame a set of stimulation channels for each side based on spectral content of the band pass signals. Left and right side signal processing submodules process for each stimulation frame a limited subset of each side band pass signals corresponding to the selected stimulation channels to generate electrical stimulation signals.

Abstract: An implantable medical device includes an implantable coil case that contains a communications coil. A magnet receptacle is located within the coil case at the radial center and has a magnet opening in one of the lateral surface or the medial surface of the coil case. A magnet fitting groove is recessed into one of the lateral or medial surface of the coil case and extends from the magnet opening to the outer circumference of the coil case. A u-shaped implant magnet clip has parallel clip legs that are connected at a closed end of the u-shape, and an implant magnet is attached to one of the clip legs. The coil case and the magnet clip are configured to cooperate for a portion of the coil case to fit between the clip legs and the implant magnet to slide through the magnet fitting groove and fit through the magnet opening into the magnet receptacle.

Abstract: A middle ear implant system includes a bone conduction transducer configured for fixed attachment to skull bone of a patient beneath the skin behind the ear, and for generating sound vibrations from an external communications signal received through the skin for coupling to the skull bone for bone conduction sound perception by the patient. A malleable ossicle connector is connected to the bone conduction transducer and a middle ear hearing structure of the patient. And one or more isolation springs are configured for placement at the fixed attachment of the bone conduction transducer to the skull bone to acoustically decouple the bone conduction transducer from the skull bone to avoid bone conduction sound perception so that sound perception from the external communications signal is solely via the middle ear sound perception from vibrations coupled to the middle ear hearing structure by the ossicle connector.

Abstract: A respiration sensor is described of a respiration implant system for an implanted patient with impaired breathing. A sensor body is made of electrically insulating material and is configured to fit between two adjacent ribs and between the pectoralis muscle and the parasternal muscle of the implanted patient, with the bottom surface adjacent to an superficial surface of the parasternal muscle and the top surface adjacent to a profound surface of the pectoralis muscle. At least one parasternal sensor electrode is located on the bottom surface of the sensor body and is configured to cooperate with the electrically insulating material of the sensor body to sense a parasternal electromyography (EMG) signal representing electrical activity of the adjacent parasternal muscle with minimal influence by electrical activity of the nearby pectoralis muscle.

Abstract: A method of enhancing distorted signal having a speech and noise component, with a processing device having memory with stored training information T, comprising a step of removing noise in spectrum domain according to a noise and speech model to obtain a clear signal spectrum, wherein the training information T comprises dictionaries of compact spectra prototypes of speech and noise, speech gains and noise gains forming together composite states and it comprises probabilities of state history. Dictionaries of compact spectra prototypes comprise compact spectra prototypes of a first dimension P1 and of a second dimension P2 where second dimension P2 is higher or equal to the first dimension P1.

Abstract: A method is described for estimating skin thickness over an implanted magnet. A plane is defined that is perpendicular to the skin of a patient over an implanted magnet and characterized by x- and y-axis coordinates. The magnetic field strength of the implanted magnet is measured using an array of magnetic sensors on the skin of the patient. From the measured magnetic field strength, at least one x-axis coordinate in the plane is determined for at least one y-axis zero position on the array where a y-axis component of the measured magnetic field strength is zero. From that, a y-axis coordinate of the at least one y-axis zero is calculated as a function of the at least one x-axis coordinate, such that the y-axis coordinate represents thickness of the skin over the implanted magnet.

Abstract: Arrangements are described for generating electrode stimulation signals to electrode contacts in an implanted cochlear implant electrode array. Electrode stimulation signals are a sequence of monophasic stimulation pulses varying in polarity between positive polarity and negative polarity with successive pulses separated in time by an interpulse interval sufficient for neural response. Accumulated charge imbalance and charge imbalance polarity are calculated for each electrode contact after each stimulation pulse. For each electrode contact a stimulation pulse has the same polarity as an immediately preceding stimulation pulse for that electrode contact only when the charge imbalance polarity has opposite polarity from the immediately preceding stimulation pulse for that electrode contact, and the accumulated charge imbalance exceeds a defined charge imbalance threshold value. Otherwise, each stimulation pulse has the opposite polarity as the immediately preceding stimulation pulse for that electrode contact.

Abstract: A dual microphone signal processing arrangement for reducing reverberation is described. Time domain microphone signals are developed from a pair of sensing microphones. These are converted to the time-frequency domain to produce complex value spectra signals. A binary gain function applies frequency-specific energy ratios between the spectra signals to produce transformed spectra signals. A sigmoid gain function based on an inter-microphone coherence value between the transformed spectra signals is applied to the transformed spectra signals to produce coherence adapted spectra signals. And an inverse time-frequency transformation is applied to the coherence adjusted spectra signals to produce time-domain reverberation-compensated microphone signals with reduced reverberation components.

Abstract: A portion of a vestibular prosthesis system is described which includes an external coil housing and an external holding magnet that allow rotation of the external coil housing around a rotation axis that passes through the external holding magnet orthogonal to a skin interface surface. An external communications coil arrangement within the housing includes three or more external coil segments rotationally adjacent to each other around the rotation axis, each external coil segment being independently operable by an external signal processor for coupling an implant communication signal. And the external signal processor is configured to periodically operate the external coil segments to quantify rotation of the external coil housing and adjust the signal component of the implant communication signal to offset quantified rotation of the housing.

Abstract: Optogenetic signal processing is described for an auditory prosthesis with an intracochlear array of optical stimulation sources implanted in a patient having auditory neurons genetically modified with light sensitive ion channels. Stimulation timing signals are generated for the corresponding auditory neurons for each band pass signal based on characteristic temporal fine structure features of the band pass signals. The stimulation timing signals include: i. one or more channel opening signals adapted to open the ion channels of the corresponding auditory neurons, and ii. one or more channel closing signals adapted to close the ion channels of the corresponding ion channels. Optical stimulation signals are then produced for the optical stimulation sources based on the stimulation timing signals.