Ear canal microphone utilizing communications with hearing implant

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11418897-B2
Application number	US-201916960518-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 11, 2019
Priority date	Jan 16, 2018
Publication date	Aug 16, 2022
Grant date	Aug 16, 2022

Abstract

An apparatus includes a housing configured to be positioned within an ear canal of a recipient, at least one transducer, and at least one communication circuit. The at least one transducer is configured to respond to sound within the ear canal by generating output signals indicative of the sound. The at least one communication circuit has at least one resonance frequency and is configured to receive the output signals from the at least one transducer and to modulate the at least one resonance frequency in response to the output signals from the at least one transducer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a housing configured to be positioned within an ear canal of a recipient;
at least one transducer positioned on or within the housing, the at least one transducer configured to respond to sound within the ear canal by generating output signals indicative of the sound; and
at least one communication circuit having at least one resonance frequency, the at least one communication circuit positioned on or within the housing, the at least one communication circuit configured to receive the output signals from the at least one transducer and to modulate the at least one resonance frequency in response to the output signals from the at least one transducer, the at least one communication circuit comprising at least one antenna circuit configured to wirelessly receive at least one signal from a device implanted in the recipient.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one transducer comprises a passive microphone.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna circuit has a radiation pattern that is rotationally symmetric about a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna circuit comprises a plurality of antenna circuits, each of which has a corresponding non-isotropic radiation pattern with a corresponding symmetry axis, wherein the symmetry axes are non-parallel to one another.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication circuit is configured to use power received from the at least one signal to modulate the at least one resonance frequency.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one communication circuit comprises a resonance circuit comprising an inductance L and a capacitance C, wherein the resonance frequency is dependent on the inductance L and the capacitance C, and wherein the at least one communication circuit is configured to modulate the at least one resonance frequency by modulating at least one of the inductance L and the capacitance C.

7. An apparatus comprising:
a housing configured to be positioned within an ear canal of a recipient;
at least one transducer positioned on or within the housing, the at least one transducer configured to respond to sound within the ear canal by generating output signals indicative of the sound; and
at least one communication circuit having at least one resonance frequency, the at least one communication circuit positioned on or within the housing, the at least one communication circuit configured to receive the output signals from the at least one transducer and to modulate the at least one resonance frequency in response to the output signals from the at least one transducer, wherein the at least one communication circuit comprises a plurality of communication circuits, each of which has a corresponding resonance frequency and is configured to receive the output signals from the at least one transducer and to modulate the corresponding resonance frequency in response to the output signals from the at least one transducer.

8. An apparatus comprising:
at least one transmission circuit configured to wirelessly transmit first electromagnetic signals to a transducer assembly positioned within an ear canal of a recipient;
at least one detection circuit configured to detect second electromagnetic signals radiated from the transducer assembly, the second electromagnetic signals comprising a portion of the first electromagnetic signals reflected from the transducer assembly; and
at least one excitation assembly configured to generate excitation signals in response to the second electromagnetic signals, wherein the apparatus comprises an implantable auditory prosthesis, the transducer assembly comprises at least one electroacoustic transducer, and the at least one excitation assembly comprises at least one of: an electrode array, a middle ear actuator, a direct acoustic cochlear implant actuator, and a bone conduction actuator.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the second electromagnetic signals comprise modulations that define data indicative of sound received by the transducer assembly, the at least one detection circuit is configured to detect said modulations, and the at least one excitation assembly is configured to generate excitation signals in response to said detected modulations.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one detection circuit is configured to detect data indicative of sound received by the transducer assembly that is included within the second electromagnetic signals, and the excitation signals are indicative of the sound received by the transducer assembly and are configured to be communicated to the recipient.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one transmission circuit comprises at least one antenna configured to wirelessly transmit the first electromagnetic signals.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the at least one detection circuit comprises at least one detection antenna configured to receive the second electromagnetic signals radiated from the transducer assembly, the at least one detection antenna separate from the at least one antenna of the at least one transmission circuit.

13. An apparatus comprising:
at least one transmission circuit configured to wirelessly transmit first electromagnetic signals to a transducer assembly positioned within an ear canal of a recipient, the at least one transmission circuit comprising at least one antenna configured to wirelessly transmit the first electromagnetic signals, the at least one antenna comprising a plurality of antenna circuits, each of which has a corresponding non-isotropic radiation pattern with a corresponding symmetry axis, wherein the symmetry axes are non-parallel to one another;
at least one detection circuit configured to detect second electromagnetic signals radiated from the transducer assembly, the second electromagnetic signals comprising a portion of the first electromagnetic signals reflected from the transducer assembly; and
at least one excitation assembly configured to generate excitation signals in response to the second electromagnetic signals.

14. A method comprising:
receiving sound at an assembly comprising at least one electroacoustic transducer within an ear canal of a recipient;
wirelessly receiving first electromagnetic signals at the assembly within the ear canal; and
in response to the received sound, applying modulations to at least a portion of second electromagnetic signals being radiated from the assembly, wherein the second electromagnetic signals comprise a reflected portion of the first electromagnetic signals, wherein the first electromagnetic signals are received from an implantable auditory prosthesis comprising at least one excitation assembly configured to generate excitation signals in response to the second electromagnetic signals, the at least one excitation assembly comprising at least one of: an electrode array, a middle ear actuator, a direct acoustic cochlear implant actuator, and a bone conduction actuator.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said applying modulations comprises modulating a resonance frequency of the assembly.

16. A method comprising:
receiving sound at an assembly within an ear canal of a recipient;
wirelessly receiving first electromagnetic signals at the assembly within the ear canal;
in response to the received sound, applying modulations to at least a portion of second electromagnetic signals being radiated from the assembly;
wirelessly transmitting the first electromagnetic signals from

Assignees

• Cochlear Ltd

Inventors

• Oplinger Kenneth
• Nilsson Sören

Classifications

• H04R2225/67

  Implantable hearing aids or parts thereof not covered by H04R25/606 · CPC title

• A61N1/36057

  adapted for stimulating afferent nerves · CPC title

• H04R25/554 Primary

  using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils · CPC title

• H04R25/606

  acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window · CPC title

• A61N1/36038

  Cochlear stimulation · CPC title