Light based hearing systems, apparatus, and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10178483-B2
Application number	US-201615383626-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2016
Priority date	Dec 30, 2015
Publication date	Jan 8, 2019
Grant date	Jan 8, 2019

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention include a method of aligning the elements of a tympanic lens, the method comprising the steps of: forming mold of a user's ear canal, including the user's tympanic membrane; digitally scanning the ear canal mold to create a digital model of the user's ear canal; using the digital data to size a chassis for the tympanic lens; manufacturing a chassis; manufacturing an ear canal mold, manufacturing an alignment tool, including a chassis alignment feature and a photodetector alignment feature; mating the ear canal mold and alignment tool; placing the chassis into the mold, using the alignment tool to fix the position of the chassis with respect to a model of the user's tympanic membrane and features thereof; mounting a microactuator and photodetector to the chassis; and using the photodetector alignment feature to position the photodetector prior to fixing the photodetector in place.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens, the method comprising the steps of:
creating a digital model of at least a portion of a user's ear canal;
manufacturing an ear canal mold using the digital model, wherein the ear canal mold includes a recessed portion wherein the recessed portion includes a model of at least a portion of the user's medial ear canal, including the tympanic membrane;
manufacturing an alignment tool, including a chassis alignment feature and a photodetector alignment feature, wherein the chassis alignment feature and the photodetector alignment feature are unique to the anatomy of the user;
mating the ear canal mold and alignment tool;
mounting a chassis in the ear canal mold using the chassis alignment feature to properly align the chassis in the ear canal mold;
mounting a photodetector to the chassis; and
using the photodetector alignment feature to position the photodetector on the chassis prior to gluing the photodetector in place,
wherein the method further comprises a step of creating registration markers to align the digital model with global predetermined coordinates of a digital working environment after a step of digitally scanning an ear canal impression to create the digital model of the user's ear canal.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of creating a digital model comprises the steps of:
forming the ear canal impression, including the user's tympanic membrane; and digitally scanning the ear canal impression to create the digital model of the user's ear canal.

3. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 1 , wherein the digital model is used to size the chassis for the tympanic lens.

4. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 3 , wherein the chassis is sized for the user.

5. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 4 , wherein the ear canal mold is coated with a flexible material.

6. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 5 , wherein the flexible material is Parylene.

7. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 1 , wherein the chassis is placed into the mold, using the alignment tool to fix the position of the chassis with respect to the tympanic membrane and features thereof.

8. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 5 , further including the steps of:
gluing the chassis to the flexible material coating the mold; and
cutting the flexible material to create a perimeter platform and an umbo lens.

9. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 8 wherein the flexible material is Parylene.

10. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 1 wherein components of the tympanic lens are manufactured using 3D printing.

11. A method of manufacturing a tympanic lens according to claim 1 , wherein an origin of the global predetermined coordinates of the digital working environment is positioned at the deepest point of the digital model of the user's ear canal.

12. A method of verifying the alignment of a user unique light tip and tympanic lens, the method comprising the steps of:
manufacturing a light tip using a digital model of the lateral portion of the user's ear canal, the tympanic lens including an emitter;
manufacturing a tympanic lens using a digital model of the medial portion of the user's ear canal, including the user's tympanic membrane, the tympanic lens including a photodetector;
manufacturing a verification fixture, the verification fixture comprising:
an ear canal mold manufactured using the digital model of the lateral portion of user's ear canal;
a tympanic lens mold manufactured using the digital representation of the medial portion of a user's ear canal;

mating the ear canal mold and tympanic lens mold in a manner which replicates the relation between the user's ear canal and tympanic membrane;
positioning the light tip in the ear canal mold;
positioning the tympanic lens in the tympanic lens mold;
exciting the emitter in the light tip; and
measuring electrical output from the photodetector.

13. A method of creating one or more alignment tools, the method comprising:
making one or more physical impressions of a user's ear canal;
scanning the one or more impressions to create one or more digital models of the user's ear canal, including the user's tympanic membrane;
digitally combining the one or more digital models to create a combined digital model of the user's ear canal;
creating a first alignment tool using a distal portion of the combined digital model, wherein the first alignment tool replicates, at least in part, the user's tympanic membrane and surrounding anatomy;
creating a second alignment tool, the second alignment tool comprising a photodetector alignment feature and a chassis alignment feature; and
creating a third alignment tool, the third alignment tool comprising the first and second alignment tools.

14. The method of creating one or more alignment tools according to claim 13 , wherein creating the third alignment tool comprises the step of creating the third alignment tool using a proximal portion of the combined digital model, wherein the second alignment tool replicates, at least in part, the lateral portion of the user's ear canal anatomy.

Assignees

• Earlens Corp

Inventors

• Teran Marco
• Bishop Mark
• Kimura Torsten
• Rucker Paul
• Puria Sunil
• Jones Marshall Scott

Classifications

• H02J7/90

  Regulation of charging or discharging current or voltage · CPC title

• H02J7/70

  characterised by the mechanical construction · CPC title

• H04R2225/77

  Design aspects, e.g. CAD, of hearing aid tips, moulds or housings · CPC title

• H04R25/60

  Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles (ear wax retarders, e.g. mounting thereof H04R25/654) · CPC title

• H04R25/70

  Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting · CPC title