Patent Application
20250133358
Medical devices have provided a wide range of therapeutic benefits to recipients over recent decades. Medical devices can include internal or implantable components/devices, external or wearable components/devices, or combinations thereof (e.g., a device having an external component communicating with an implantable component). Medical devices, such as traditional hearing aids, partially or fully-implantable hearing prostheses (e.g., bone conduction devices, mechanical stimulators, cochlear implants, etc.), pacemakers, defibrillators, functional electrical stimulation devices, and other medical devices, have been successful in performing lifesaving and/or lifestyle enhancement functions and/or recipient monitoring for a number of years.
The types of medical devices and the ranges of functions performed thereby have increased over the years. For example, many medical devices, sometimes referred to as “implantable medical devices,” now often include one or more instruments, apparatus, sensors, processors, controllers or other functional mechanical or electrical components that are permanently or temporarily implanted in a recipient. These functional devices are typically used to diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat, or manage a disease/injury or symptom thereof, or to investigate, replace or modify the anatomy or a physiological process. Many of these functional devices utilize power and/or data received from external devices that are part of, or operate in conjunction with, implantable components.
In an exemplary embodiment, there is a device, comprising a transducer assembly, and a chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the device based on sound are effectively transmitted therethrough, wherein the device is an implantable microphone, the transducer assembly is in effective vibration communication with the gas, wherein the transducer assembly is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas to an electrical signal, the chamber and the transducer assembly are part of a microphone system of the implantable microphone, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer assembly includes a back volume corresponding to at least part of a back volume of the microphone system, and the implantable microphone is configured to purposely enable pressure equalization of the front volume with another volume within the implantable microphone in real time and/or within a time period substantially faster than tolerance leakage between the front volume and the another volume via a route that bypasses a back volume of the microphone system.
In an exemplary embodiment, there is a device, comprising: a transducer assembly, and a chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the device based on sound are effectively transmitted therethrough, wherein the device is an implantable microphone, the transducer assembly is in effective vibration communication with the gas, wherein the transducer is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas to an electrical signal, the chamber and the transducer assembly are part of a microphone system of the implantable microphone, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer assembly includes a back volume corresponding to at least part of a back volume of the microphone system, and the device is configured to transfer gas between the chamber and a volume outside the transducer assembly, the volume outside the transducer assembly being a fixed volume.
In an exemplary embodiment, there is a method, comprising capturing at a first temporal location first sound originating external to a recipient with an implanted microphone system implanted in the recipient while the implanted microphone system has a first transfer function, subsequent to the first temporal location, at a second temporal location, experiencing a first event that causes the first transfer function to change to a second transfer function different from the first transfer function, and during a first temporal period beginning after the first temporal location, while continuing to experience the first event, automatically changing the transfer function of the microphone system at least back towards the first transfer function by transferring gas between a front volume of the microphone system and another volume that is greater than the back volume of the discrete transducer assembly and at least 5 times greater than the front volume.
In an embodiment, there is an implantable microphone, comprising a microphone transducer assembly including a transducer housing and a transducer diaphragm, a housing containing the microphone transducer assembly, a pressure sensitive diaphragm, the pressure sensitive diaphragm being exposed to an ambient environment of the implantable microphone, a manifold including a chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the device based on sound are effectively transmitted therethrough, the chamber being bounded in part by the pressure sensitive diaphragm, wherein the transducer diaphragm is located at an end of a passage of the chamber so that the transducer diaphragm is in effective vibration communication with the gas, wherein the transducer microphone assembly is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas into an electrical signal, the chamber and the transducer microphone assembly are part of a microphone system of the implantable microphone, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer microphone assembly includes a back volume established by the transducer housing and the transducer diaphragm, the back volume corresponding to at least part of a back volume of the microphone system, and a porous gasket and/or a micropassage connect the front volume with a volume of the housing containing the microphone to purposely enable pressure equalization of the front volume with the volume of the housing containing the microphone in real time and/or within a time period substantially faster than tolerance leakage between the front volume and the another volume via a route that bypasses a back volume of the microphone system.
Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Merely for ease of description, the techniques presented herein are described herein with reference by way of background to an illustrative medical device, namely a cochlear implant. However, it is to be appreciated that the techniques presented herein may also be used with a variety of other medical devices that, while providing a wide range of therapeutic benefits to recipients, patients, or other users, may benefit from setting changes based on the location of the medical device. For example, the techniques presented herein may be used to determine the viability of various types of prostheses, such as, for example, a vestibular implant and/or a retinal implant, with respect to a particular human being. And with regard to the latter, the techniques presented herein are also described with reference by way of background to another illustrative medical device, namely a retinal implant. The techniques presented herein are also applicable to the technology of vestibular devices (e.g., vestibular implants), visual devices (i.e., bionic eyes—the microphones can be used to track sound and thus direct eye tracking potentially), sensors, pacemakers, drug delivery systems, defibrillators, functional electrical stimulation devices, catheters, seizure devices (e.g., devices for monitoring and/or treating epileptic events), sleep apnea devices, electroporation, etc.
The teachings detailed herein are implemented in sensory prostheses, such as hearing implants specifically, and neural stimulation devices in general. Other types of sensory prostheses can include retinal implants. Accordingly, any teaching herein with respect to a sensory prosthesis corresponds to a disclosure of utilizing those teachings in/with a hearing implant and in/with a retinal implant, unless otherwise specified, providing the art enables such. Moreover, with respect to any teachings herein, such corresponds to a disclosure of utilizing those teachings with all of or parts of a cochlear implant, a bone conduction device (active and passive transcutaneous bone conduction devices, and percutaneous bone conduction devices) and a middle ear implant, providing that the art enables such, unless otherwise noted. To be clear, any teaching herein with respect to a specific sensory prosthesis corresponds to a disclosure of utilizing those teachings in/with any of the aforementioned hearing prostheses, and vice versa. Corollary to this is at least some teachings detailed herein can be implemented in somatosensory implants and/or chemosensory implants. Accordingly, any teaching herein with respect to a sensory prosthesis corresponds to a disclosure of utilizing those teachings with/in a somatosensory implant and/or a chemosensory implant.
Thus, merely for ease of description, the first illustrative medical device is a hearing prosthesis. Any techniques presented herein described for one type of hearing prosthesis or any other device disclosed herein corresponds to a disclosure of another embodiment of using such teaching with another device (and/or another type of hearing device including other types of bone conduction devices (active transcutaneous and/or passive transcutaneous), middle ear auditory prostheses (particularly, the EM vibrator/actuator thereof), direct acoustic stimulators), etc. The techniques presented herein can be used with implantable/implanted microphones (where such is a transducer that receives vibrations and outputs an electrical signal (effectively, the reverse of an EM actuator), whether or not used as part of a hearing prosthesis (e.g., a body noise or other monitor, whether or not it is part of a hearing prosthesis) and/or external microphones. The techniques presented herein can also be used with vestibular devices (e.g., vestibular implants), sensors, seizure devices (e.g., devices for monitoring and/or treating epileptic events, where applicable), and thus any disclosure herein is a disclosure of utilizing such devices with the teachings herein (and vice versa), providing that the art enables such. The teachings herein can also be used with conventional hearing devices, such as telephones and ear bud devices connected MP3 players or smart phones or other types of devices that can provide audio signal output, that use an EM transducer. Indeed, the teachings herein can be used with specialized communication devices, such as military communication devices, factory floor communication devices, professional sports communication devices, etc.
By way of example, any of the technologies detailed herein which are associated with components that are implanted in a recipient can be combined with information delivery technologies disclosed herein, such as for example, devices that evoke a hearing percept, to convey information to the recipient. By way of example only and not by way of limitation, a sleep apnea implanted device can be combined with a device that can evoke a hearing percept so as to provide information to a recipient, such as status information, etc. In this regard, the various sensors detailed herein and the various output devices detailed herein can be combined with such a non-sensory prosthesis or any other nonsensory prosthesis that includes implantable components so as to enable a user interface, as will be described herein, that enables information to be conveyed to the recipient, which information is associated with the implant.
It is noted that in alternate embodiments, the teachings detailed herein and/or variations thereof can be applicable to other types of hearing prostheses, such as, for example, bone conduction devices (e.g., active transcutaneous bone conduction devices), Direct Acoustic Cochlear Implant (DACI) etc., middle ear implants, etc. Embodiments can include any type of hearing prosthesis that can utilize the teachings detailed herein and/or variations thereof. It is further noted that in some embodiments, the teachings detailed herein and/or variations thereof can be utilized other types of prostheses beyond hearing prostheses.
The recipient has an outer ear 101, a middle ear 105, and an inner ear 107. Components of outer ear 101, middle ear 105, and inner ear 107 are described below, followed by a description of cochlear implant 100.
In a fully functional ear, outer ear 101 comprises an auricle 110 and an ear canal 102. An acoustic pressure or sound wave 103 is collected by auricle 110 and channeled into and through ear canal 102. Disposed across the distal end of ear channel 102 is a tympanic membrane 104 which vibrates in response to sound wave 103. This vibration is coupled to oval window or fenestra ovalis 112 through three bones of middle ear 105, collectively referred to as the ossicles 106 and comprising the malleus 191, the incus 109, and the stapes 111. Bones 191, 109, and 111 of middle ear 105 serve to filter and amplify sound wave 103, causing oval window 112 to articulate, or vibrate in response to vibration of tympanic membrane 104. This vibration sets up waves of fluid motion of the perilymph within cochlea 140. Such fluid motion, in turn, activates tiny hair cells (not shown) inside of cochlea 140. Activation of the hair cells causes appropriate nerve impulses to be generated and transferred through the spiral ganglion cells (not shown) and auditory nerve 114 to the brain (also not shown) where they are perceived as sound.
As shown, cochlear implant 100 comprises one or more components which are temporarily or permanently implanted in the recipient. Cochlear implant 100 is shown in
Cochlear implant 100 comprises an internal energy transfer assembly 132 which can be positioned in a recess of the temporal bone adjacent auricle 110 of the recipient. As detailed below, internal energy transfer assembly 132 is a component of the transcutaneous energy transfer link and receives power and/or data from external device 142. In the illustrative embodiment, the energy transfer link comprises an inductive RF link, and internal energy transfer assembly 132 comprises a primary internal coil 136. Internal coil 136 is typically a wire antenna coil comprised of multiple turns of electrically insulated single-strand or multi-strand platinum or gold wire.
Cochlear implant 100 further comprises a main implantable component 120 and an elongate electrode assembly 118. In some embodiments, internal energy transfer assembly 132 and main implantable component 120 are hermetically sealed within a biocompatible housing. In some embodiments, main implantable component 120 includes an implantable microphone assembly (not shown, but details of such an exemplary embodiment are described below) and a sound processing unit (not shown) to convert the sound signals received by the implantable microphone in internal energy transfer assembly 132 to data signals. That said, in some alternative embodiments, the implantable microphone assembly can be located in a separate implantable component (e.g., that has its own housing assembly, etc.) that is in signal communication with the main implantable component 120 (e.g., via leads or the like between the separate implantable component and the main implantable component 120). In at least some embodiments, the teachings detailed herein and/or variations thereof can be utilized with any type of implantable microphone arrangement. Some additional details associated with the implantable microphone assembly 137 will be detailed below.
Main implantable component 120 further includes a stimulator unit (also not shown) which generates electrical stimulation signals based on the data signals. The electrical stimulation signals are delivered to the recipient via elongate electrode assembly 118.
Elongate electrode assembly 118 has a proximal end connected to main implantable component 120, and a distal end implanted in cochlea 140. Electrode assembly 118 extends from main implantable component 120 to cochlea 140 through mastoid bone 119. In some embodiments electrode assembly 118 may be implanted at least in basal region 116, and sometimes further. For example, electrode assembly 118 may extend towards apical end of cochlea 140, referred to as cochlea apex 134. In certain circumstances, electrode assembly 118 may be inserted into cochlea 140 via a cochleostomy 122. In other circumstances, a cochleostomy may be formed through round window 121, oval window 112, the promontory 123 or through an apical turn 147 of cochlea 140.
Electrode assembly 118 comprises a longitudinally aligned and distally extending array 146 of electrodes 148, disposed along a length thereof. As noted, a stimulator unit generates stimulation signals which are applied by electrodes 148 to cochlea 140, thereby stimulating auditory nerve 114.
As noted, cochlear implant 100 comprises a totally implantable prosthesis that is capable of operating, at least for a period of time, without the need for external device 142. Therefore, cochlear implant 100 further comprises a rechargeable power source (not shown) that stores power received from external device 142. The power source can comprise, for example, a rechargeable battery. During operation of cochlear implant 100, the power stored by the power source is distributed to the various other implanted components as needed. The power source may be located in main implantable component 120, or disposed in a separate implanted location.
Implanted microphones can detect pressure in some embodiments. In at least some embodiments, they are configured to detect air pressure which is subsequently transmitted through the tissue to the microphone. Implanted microphones can detect other pressures presented to their surface, which can be undesirable in certain circumstances. One type of pressure which can represent an impairment to the performance of an implanted microphone is pressure due to acceleration. In some embodiments, such acceleration can have a deleterious effect on a hearing prosthesis if it is in the desired operational frequency range of the prosthesis, typically 20 Hz to 20 kHz, although narrower ranges still give satisfactory speech intelligibility. Accelerations may arise from, for example, foot impact during walking, motion of soft tissue relative harder tissues, wear of harder tissues against each other, chewing, and vocalization.
In some embodiments, the accelerations induce pressure on the microphone, which cannot distinguish the desired pressure due to external sounds from the largely undesired pressure due to internal vibration originating directly from the body, or borne to the microphone through the body from an implanted actuator.
In some instances, there can be utilitarian value to reducing signal outputs due to acceleration. Because the relative body-borne to air-borne pressure of an implanted microphone is typically 10-20 dB higher than that that occurs in normal hearing, body originating sounds can be louder relative to externally originating sound. Such large ratios of vibration to acoustic signals are experienced by a recipient as banging and crashing during movement, very noisy chewing, and their own voice being abnormally loud relative to other speakers. At the same time, it should be noted that there is utilitarian value in avoiding the cancellation of all or part of the recipient's own voice.
An exemplary embodiment that includes an implantable microphone assembly utilizes a motion sensor to reduce the effects of noise, including mechanical feedback and biological noise, in an output response of the implantable microphone assembly. In an exemplary embodiment, the diaphragm of the implantable microphone assembly that vibrates as a result of waves traveling through the skin of the recipient originating from an ambient sound, can be also affected by body noise and the like. To actively address non-ambient noise sources (e.g., body noise conducted through tissue of a recipient to a microphone, which in at least some embodiments is not of an energy lever and/or frequency to be audible at a location away from the recipient, at least not without sound enhancement devices) of vibration of the diaphragm of the implantable microphone and thus the resulting undesired movement between the diaphragm and overlying tissue, some embodiments utilize a motion sensor to provide an output response proportional to the vibrational movement experienced by the microphone assembly. In an exemplary embodiment, the motion sensor is substantially isolated from the receipt of the ambient acoustic signals originating from an ambient sound that pass transcutaneously through the tissue over the microphone/diaphragm of the microphone and which are received by the microphone diaphragm. In this regard, the motion sensor can provide an output response/signal that is indicative of motion (e.g., caused by vibration and/or acceleration), whereas a transducer of the microphone can generate an output response/signal that is indicative of both transcutaneously received acoustic sound and motion. Accordingly, the output response of the motion sensor can be removed from the output response of the microphone to reduce the effects of motion on the implanted hearing system.
Accordingly, to remove noise, including feedback and biological noise, it is utilitarian to measure the acceleration of the microphone assembly.
In order to implement a filter 74 for scaling and/or phase shifting the output response Ha of a motion sensor 71 to remove the effects of feedback and/or biological noise from a microphone output response Hm, a system model of the relationship between the output responses of the microphone 12 and motion sensor 71 is identified/developed. That is, the filter 74 can be operative to manipulate the output response Ha of the motion sensor 71 to biological noise and/or feedback, to replicate the output response Hm of the microphone 12 to the same biological noise and/or feedback. In this regard, the filtered output response Haf and Hm may be of substantially the same magnitude and phase prior to combination (e.g., subtraction/cancellation). However, it will be noted that such a filter 74 need not manipulate the output response Ha of the motion sensor 71 to match the microphone output response Hm for all operating conditions. Rather, the filter 74 can match the output responses Ha and Hm over a predetermined set of operating conditions including, for example, a desired frequency range (e.g., an acoustic hearing range) and/or one or more pass bands. Note also that the filter 74 can accommodate the ratio of microphone output response Hm to the motion sensor output response Ha to acceleration, and thus any changes of the feedback path which leave the ratio of the responses to acceleration unaltered have little or no impact on good cancellation. Such an arrangement thus can have significantly reduced sensitivity to the posture, clenching of teeth, etc., of the recipient.
An exemplary process for generating a filter usable in an embodiment can be found in a system discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20120232333 and/or according to any utilitarian methodology. Further details of noise cancellation implementation that can be used in some embodiments are found in US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0256949 published on Sep. 10, 2015, naming Filiep J. Vanpoucke as an inventor. In this regard, at least some embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods that utilize one or more or all of the teachings of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0256949 and/or U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20120232333 in combination with one or more or all of the teachings detailed herein.
In an exemplary embodiment of the system 400, the system is configured to compare a parameter that is related to transduced energy originating from the acoustic signal to a parameter related to transduced energy originating from the body noise. The system is further configured to identify the presence (and thus identify the absence) of an own of voice event based on the comparison. Some additional details of such an exemplary embodiment are described below.
The system 400 is configured to cancel body noise energy from signal(s) output by the transducer system 480 that includes energy originating from the aforementioned acoustic signal (the ambient noise signal 103). In an exemplary embodiment, this cancellation of body noise is executed by the system 400 during some modes of operation, such as a mode of operation in which the system operates in the absence of an identification by the aforementioned control unit of an identification of the presence of the own voice body noise event. That is, in an exemplary embodiment, the system 400 is configured to alternately cancel body noise energy from the transducer signal depending on a mode of operation. In this regard, if the system 400, via the control unit 440, does not identify the presence of an own voice event and/or identifies the absence of an own voice event, the system operates to cancel body noise. (In an exemplary embodiment, it operates to cancel body noise according to the adaptive methods, systems, and/or devices detailed herein and/or variations thereof.) Element 450 is an adjustable filter apparatus 450 controlled by control unit 440 that runs an adaptive algorithm to control the filter(s) of the adjustable filter apparatus 450. That said, this does not exclude the cancellation of body noise energy from the transducer signal during the mode of operation where the control unit identifies the presence of an own voice body noise event, although in some embodiments, the system is so configured such that cancellation of body noise energy from the transducer signal is suspended during such a mode of operation. Collectively, the accelerometer 470, the adjustable filters 450, the filter control unit 440, and the adder 430 corresponds to an adaptive noise cancellation sub-system 460. Further details of variations of the embodiment of
The diaphragm 52 can be welded to the housing 20. This weld can establish a hermetic seal between the exposed portions of the microphone 1110 such that the interior of the microphone is hermetically sealed from the ambient environment.
Referring now to
As illustrated in
In the microphone 1110, the second internal chamber portion 34 can be of L-shaped configuration, wherein the second portion 34 comprises a first leg 34a that extends away from the first internal chamber portion 32 about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to a center plane of the first diaphragm 52. The second internal chamber portion 34 further includes a second leg 34b interconnected to the first leg 34a at a rounded elbow 34c.
Aperture 42 and opening 44 can each be of a circular configuration and can each be aligned about a common center axis. Correspondingly, such common center axis can be aligned with a center axis for first diaphragm 52 which can also be of a circular shape. Further, the first internal chamber portion 32 and first leg 34a of the second internal chamber portion 34 can each be of a cylindrical configuration, and can each be aligned on the same center axis as aperture 42 and opening 44. The second leg 34b of the second portion 34 of chamber 32 can be disposed to extend substantially perpendicularly from the first leg 34a of the second portion 34. As such, it can be seen that the second leg 34b may share a wall portion 36 with the first portion 32 of the internal chamber 30.
As shown in
In use, the microphone 10 can be surgically implanted in the mastoid region of a patient, wherein the aperture 42 and the first diaphragm 52 are positioned immediately adjacent to and facing the skin of the patient. Upon receipt of vibrations traveling through the skin of the recipient resulting from an acoustical signal impinging upon the outside of the recipient's skin as a result of an ambient noise, first diaphragm 52 will vibrate to act upon the enclosed volume within chamber 30 and thereby pass the vibration from one side of the first diaphragm 52 (the outside) into the chamber 30 such that it is communicated by the medium therein and received by the second diaphragm 54.
Upon receipt of vibrational energy traveling through internal chamber 30 originating from movement of the diaphragm 52 and impinging upon the second diaphragm 54, the microphone element 60 converts the energy impinging thereupon into an electrical signal for output via one of the signal lines 70a, 70b or 70c. In turn, such output signal can be further conditioned and/or directly transmitted to a sound processor or the like of the hearing prosthesis of which the microphone 10 is apart.
The housing 20 and first diaphragm 52 can be constructed from biocompatible materials. In particular, titanium and/or biocompatible titanium-containing alloys may be utilized for the construction of such components. With particular respect to the first diaphragm 52 in an exemplary embodiment, the material utilized and thickness thereof can be such that it yields resonant frequency above about 3.5 kHz when mechanically loaded by tissue, wherein the resonance has, in at least some embodiments no greater than about a 20 dB excursion. Further, attenuation effects of the first diaphragm 52 can be, in at least some embodiments, more than 10 dB from about 250 Hz to 5.5 kHz. By way of example, first diaphragm 52 can comprise titanium, and may be of a flat, disk-shaped configuration having a thickness of between about 5 to about 20 microns. In an exemplary embodiment, there is a diaphragm having a 10 or 15 micron thickness that is under tension of about 400 N/m. However, in an alternate embodiment, the first diaphragm 52 is instead a plate, such as a titanium plate, having a thickness of more than 20 microns. In an exemplary embodiment, the diaphragm (or plate) has a material utilized and thickness thereof is such that it yields resonant frequency above about 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or more kHz when mechanically loaded by tissue. In an exemplary embodiment, when element 52 is a plate, the plate can have a thickness of less than or equal to about 200 microns (in some embodiments, there is no tension on the plates). In an exemplary embodiment, there is a plate having a thickness of about 100 microns or less, or a plate having a thickness of about 32 microns or less. In an exemplary embodiment, the spring rate of the diaphragm is relatively small compared to the spring rate of the fluid inside the chamber. This results in the pressure loading being coupled to the microphone diaphragm in a relatively complete manner, rather than some of the force from the external pressure being supported by the diaphragm 52 and the housing 20 whereby the pressure loading can be lost.
In an exemplary embodiment, there is a support member 81 that is located within the first portion 32 of the internal chamber 30 of housing 20, as is depicted by the phantom lines in
Microphone 1110 can be an integral part of an implanted unit, such as the implantable component 100. In an exemplary embodiment, the unit includes the microphone and a receiver-stimulator of a cochlear implant, a signal processor (sound processor) and/or other components. It is further noted that in alternative embodiments, the microphone 1110 can be located within the recipient at a location remote from the unit that includes the receiver-stimulator. That is, in an exemplary embodiment, microphone 1110 can be a separate, self-contained unit in signal communication with the unit that includes the receiver-stimulator, where the latter can also contain a signal processor (sound processor) and/or other components, the microphone 1110 being in signal communication with the remote unit via electrical leads, etc. An exemplary embodiment of a separate, self-contained microphone is seen in
In view of the above, it can be seen that embodiments can use an implanted/implantable microphone that employs a flexible diaphragm responsive to acoustic signals (outside sounds) that has a hermetic seal which prevents ingress of gas or liquid into the microphone enclosure. The diaphragm transmits pressure waves (compression and/or rarefaction) into the microphone enclosure, causing changes (which can be rapid) in pressure within a defined volume (the “front volume”—the volume established at least by chambers 32 and 34). These changes in pressure are detected in turn by a microphone element 60 located on an opposite side of a diaphragm 54 relative to the front volume) and so disposed as to face the front volume with its acoustically sensitive side. On the opposite side of the diaphragm 54 relative to the front volume is another defined volume (the “back volume”), which serves as an acoustic compliance area allowing the diaphragm 54 to deflect and detect sound from the front volume. The microphone element 60 is coupled to this diaphragm (directly or indirectly), and, in some embodiments, is connected to signal-processing circuitry (e.g., on a printed circuit board assembly, or “PCBA”) and sealed to a partition in which it is mounted so as to prevent transmission of gas or working fluid from one side to the other, around the microphone. It is noted that the microphone element can be located anywhere within the back volume that can allow it to perceive pressure variations, or otherwise detect sound, etc.
In some embodiments, there can be fluid transfer between the front volume and the back volume in response to barometric changes in which increased pressure on the external surface of the diaphragm 52 causes the diaphragm 52 to deflect inward, thus increasing pressure in the front volume, and ultimately forcing gas from the front volume to the back volume (and vice versa). This can happen because, in some embodiments, there are one or more pinhole(s) in the diaphragm 54 (sometimes by design), or because the seal around the diaphragm or other components establishing the boundary between the front volume and the back volume is not perfectly sealed (sometimes by design). To be clear, in at least some exemplary embodiments, such as those where the transducer microphone element assembly 97 is an off-the-shelf component, such as with respect to utilizing a MQM 31692 Knowles microphone as element 97, available from the Knowles microphone company, and there is no perfect seal between what is the back volume of that microphone and the front volume. Other microphones can be used, such as comparable microphones (e.g., those that will output an output that is effectively the same as that which would result from this microphone for the same given input), microphones of similar size (e.g., applicable for implantable devices, as opposed to larger microphones), microphones that have a back volume of about the same size. Some embodiments have a seal/prevent fluid transfer between the front volume and the back volume.
Barometric changes in which increased or decreased pressure on the external surface of the diaphragm 52 causes the diaphragm 52 to deflect inward or outward, respectively, thus increasing or decreasing pressure respectively in the front volume. This can change the transfer function of the microphone system, which can thus detract from the utilitarian value of the microphone system. Prior attempts to address this phenomenon can be seen in
In at least some exemplary embodiments of the embodiment of microphone 1500, any change in barometric pressure that changes the static deflection of diaphragm 52 will also change the static deflection of diaphragm 1552. In at least some exemplary embodiments, this will be results in a pressure change in the back volume (the volume that includes chambers 1532 and 1534) that is similar to and/or the same as the pressure change that occurs in the front volume (the volume that includes chambers 32 and 34). In an exemplary embodiment, this will mitigate (reduce and/or eliminate) any differences in pressure between the front volume and back volume that will have the above noted effects on the acoustic property of the microphone.
In this embodiment, the chamber and the transducer correspond to a microphone system, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer includes a back volume corresponding to the back volume of the microphone system, again, as is detailed above. It is noted that the back volume 1534 is contiguous with the inside of the transducer microphone element assembly 97 (which established part of the back volume, in combination with back volume 1534 and 1532).
Housing 1704 establishes the interior of the microphone 1700, as is the case with housing 1404 above. In this exemplary embodiment, the housing 1704 indirectly supports the diaphragm 52. More specifically, in this exemplary embodiment, the diaphragm 52 is part of a modular assembly 1790 is shown in
Support brackets 1717 are located within housing 1704 that receive the manifold 1780 otherwise hold the manifold 1780 in position within the housing 1704 and otherwise support the housing. In an alternative embodiment, walls of the housing can be utilized to support or otherwise hold the manifold 1780 within the housing. In the embodiment depicted in
In an exemplary embodiment, the manifold is a titanium body out of which is machined the space for chamber 30.
The manifold can establish the structure that bounds a portion of the front volume of the microphone system (and, in combination with the diaphragm 52, all of the front volume). The manifold can establish the bounds of a portion of the chamber 30, such as the first portion 32 and the second portion 34, which second portion can lead to the transducer 97.
In an exemplary embodiment, the manifold has an opening 9797 (which can also be machined into the titanium body noted above) to receive transducer 97 (transducer assembly). In an exemplary embodiment, the transducer 97 is adhesively connected to the structure of the manifold. Here, the diaphragm 54 faces the passageway 34 to the first portion 32, thus placing the diaphragm 54 into fluid communication with the chamber 30. Attachment arrangement 1332 can be an adhesive attachment that encircles the opening for the diaphragm 54 and encircles the passageway of the second portion 34 that faces the diaphragm. In an exemplary embodiment, the attachment arrangement 1332 can be achieved by placing a bead of adhesive around the diaphragm 54 on the face of the transducer that faces in the direction of the second portion 34, and then inserting the transducer 97 into the manifold until the face of the transducer supporting the bead of adhesive contacts the manifold. Upon curing, in an exemplary embodiment, a hermetic seal and/or an airtight seal is established between the front volume and the remainder of the housing.
In this exemplary embodiment, the front volume/chamber 30 is completely fluidically isolated from the interior of the housing 1406. In this regard, the glue 1332 establishes a gas tight barrier between the chamber 30 and the remainder of the housing. The walls of the transducer 97 are also gas tight. In some embodiments, gas may be transferred between the front volume and the back volume, the back volume being established by the interior of the transducer 97 behind the diaphragm 54. Because the housing of the transducer 97/walls of the transducer 97 are gas tight, even if there is gas transfer between the front volume and the back volume, there is no gas transfer between the front volume and the remainder of the housing.
It is briefly noted that in at least some implementations, there can be tolerance leakage or otherwise some gas transfer of a de minimus amount. In this regard, almost all systems are subject to some form of gas transfer. By gas tight, it does not mean that the walls or the adhesive are absolutely gas impermeable. There may be some amount of gas transfer between the various volumes. By rough analogy, a bottle of a carbonated soft drink will eventually lose its carbonation even if the bottle is never opened. This does not mean that the bottle is not gas tight.
With the embodiment of
In contrast to the embodiment of
It is briefly noted that as we use the phrase “expanded volume,” we are referring to an acoustic volume. The front volumes and the back volumes are volumes that impact acoustic sensitivity. By controlling the front volumes and the back volumes, sound energy does not escape from these volumes (at least the front volume), or at least only limited amounts of sound energy escape from these volumes, which limited amount is sufficient to maintain an efficacy of the sensitivity of the microphone system.
In an exemplary embodiment, the gasket in combination with the adhesive layers establishes an airtight seal between the manifold and the transducer 97, thus establishing an airtight seal with respect to the front volume and the remainder of the housing. In this regard,
Conversely, in an exemplary embodiment, the gasket 2655 used in the securement apparatus 2632 of
In an exemplary embodiment, there is no active electronic adjustment of a transfer function of the microphone system.
By rough analogy, the passageways/gaskets, etc., can be considered to a harbor port with a break wave barrier, such as a narrow inlet/outlet. The narrow inlet/outlet can stop or the large waves (high magnitude waves) of the ocean from imparting energy into the volume of the port, or otherwise reduce the amount of energy that is imparted into the port by the waves. Yet the narrow inlet/outlet can also permit the tide to rise and fall within the port in effectively the same manner as that which occurs outside the port. In a similar vein, by utilizing a limited area opening, the pressure waves from the sound are contained in the front volume, and thus the energy is not dissipated into the other volume (housing volume). This thus maintains the sensitivity of the microphone system, whereas if the energy was dissipated in substantial amounts into the other volume, the amount of energy impinging upon the microphone transducer would be less, and in some embodiments, significantly less such that the sensitivity of the microphone system would be reduced.
Referenced above was the concept of the tolerance leaking in the comparison to a soft drink. There can be considered one end of the spectrum with respect to the concept of fluid transfer between the volumes. On the other end of the spectrum is an opening wide enough that the another volume effectively becomes part of the front volume. The teachings detailed herein can strive towards reaching the in between area. The ability to transfer fluid between the volumes at speeds that are fast enough to provide for pressure equalization or compensation or otherwise to address the transfer function changes, while still maintaining an efficacious sensitivity of the microphone system. In an exemplary embodiment, the idea is to correlate the fluid transfer rates to the lower frequencies of the pressure waves that are created as a result of the ambient sounds, where the correlation is such that the fluid transfer rates are slower than those lowest frequencies in a significant or otherwise efficacious manner.
In an exemplary embodiment, the adhesive layers and the gaskets are circular and can be concentric with each other, and also can be concentric with the passageway of the front volume to the transducer and/or can be concentric with the opening in the housing of the transducer 97/concentric with the diaphragm 54.
In view of the above, it can be seen that there are embodiments where there is a subcutaneous microphone where the teachings herein can maintain or otherwise limit a variation of a performance can would otherwise vary over time, such as when the microphone is exposed to an ambient pressure that is different than the internal pressure (at least that of the front volume). This performance change can be due to the fact that the microphone is placed between the acoustic cavity and the rest of the hermetic housing and acts as a seal between the two. Without the teachings herein, in an exemplary control embodiment, a baseline device can be exposed to vacuum (such as that which is done to test for leakage out of the housing), where it can take days or weeks or months for the pressure to equalize between the acoustic cavity (front volume) and the hermetic assembly. In an exemplary embodiment, without the gas transfer teachings herein (e.g., the transducer is adhesively attached to the manifold to create a gas tight seal without a gasket), it can take at least and/or equal to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, or 60 days to achieve a pressure equalization and/or to achieve some of the percentage equalizations detailed herein. The teachings detailed herein can reduce these timeframes. Indeed, in an embodiment, the results of a hermeticity test using a vacuum might still be present when the implantable microphone is implanted in a human, without the teachings detailed herein. In any event, if a recipient takes a plane or goes to higher altitudes, the ambient pressure would be different and it will take a longer time for the pressure to equalize, causing the microphone to have varying performance over time. The teachings herein can avoid this or otherwise return the performance closer to that which should be the case.
And note that in an embodiment, the front volume is devoid of liquid. Gas is the only fluid in the front volume.
Embodiments thus establish that the front volume is in fluid communication with a bigger volume, such as the bigger volume of the housing volume. Embodiments also limit/prevent adverse effects on the acoustic sensitivity of doing so. Using a properly selected porous element, such can achieve pressure equalization that is quick enough to be utilitarian without having any negative or otherwise tolerable negative impacts impact on the acoustic sensitivity.
Embodiments thus quicken an equalization between the acoustic cavity and the hermetic housing so that a steady-state is reached much faster than that which would otherwise be the case (minutes to fractions of an hour vs. days or weeks or longer). Also, the pressure within the acoustic cavity can stay more or less constant even when the ambient pressure varies.
In an exemplary embodiment, a pressure decrease of 27% (about what happens in an airplane pressurized to pressure at 8000 feet taking off from sea level) within 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 minutes (which can occur in a linear manner over those times) in ambient atmosphere will result in less than and/or equal to a 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0, 1.9, 1.8, 1.7, 1.6. 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1, 1.0, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, or 0.1 or zero percent decrease, or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.01 percent increments, at least in less than or equal to 30, 25, 20, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0, 1.9, 1.8, 1.7, 1.6. 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1, 1.0, 9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, or 0.1 or zero minutes, or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.01 minute increments.
In addition to the gaskets above, other implementations can entail having a small hole drilled to connect the acoustic cavity to the housing volume. The size is small enough to avoid effective deleterious effects on the acoustic sensitivity. Corollary to this is to drill a hole in the MEMS casing to connect its back volume to the housing volume, again with a small diameter.
Thus, it can be seen that embodiments manage pressure change in acoustic cavity (front volume). Some embodiments achieve this by permitting gas transfer between the acoustic cavity and the volume established by the hermetic assembly (interior of the housing, volume in the housing outside the manifold). This can be implemented by connecting both cavities to enable gas transfer between both cavities. In some embodiments, there is utilitarian value in harnessing the availability of the larger volume of the housing volume relative to the acoustic cavity. Above, in some embodiments as seen, a porous layer is introduced between the microphone and the acoustic cavity, or more accurately, the structure establishing the acoustic cavity, which porous layer is in fluid communication with the cavity of the implant housing. Alternatively, or in addition to this, it is seen that there can be a small hole drilled to connect the acoustic cavity to the housing volume. In the embodiments above, a diameter of the hole is less than 4 or 3 or 2 or 1 micrometers. In some embodiments, there is a hole that has been drilled into the MEMS casing of the transducer 97 to connect its back volume to the housing volume. The hole has a small diameter, such as those just recited.
In view of the above, it can be seen that in an exemplary embodiment, there is a device that is an implantable microphone (such as a subcutaneous microphone) that includes a transducer assembly, such as transducer 97 above, and a chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the device based on sound are effectively transmitted therethrough. This can correspond to chamber 30 above. This exemplary embodiment, the transducer assembly is in effective vibration communication with the gas, wherein the transducer assembly is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas to an electrical signal. Further, the chamber and the transducer assembly are part of a microphone system of the implantable microphone, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer assembly includes a back volume corresponding to at least part of a back volume of the microphone system (in some embodiments, it is the entire back volume—that is, the volume inside the casing bounded by the casing and the diaphragm 54 establish the entire back volume of the microphone system). In this exemplary embodiment, the implantable microphone is configured to purposely enable pressure equalization of the front volume with another volume (such as the volume of the housing of the implantable microphone) within the implantable microphone in real time and/or within a time period substantially faster than tolerance leakage between the front volume and the another volume via a route that bypasses a back volume of the microphone system. This can correspond to the embodiments of
By “real time,” it is meant a temporal period that is shorter than that which results from natural leakage between the front volume and the another volume in the absence of the purposeful passageways detailed herein (including the porous gasket). A control could be the embodiment of
In an exemplary embodiment, the pressure adjustment is a pressure adjustment (pressure equalization) that is achieved based primarily on factors associated with transfer of gas from the front volume to the another volume (volume of the housing). In an exemplary embodiment, the pressure adjustment is a pressure adjustment that is achieved based primarily on factors not associated with transfer of gas to or from the back volume. In an exemplary embodiment, more than 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 90, 85, 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, or 30% or any value or range values therebetween in 1% increments of the resulting pressure adjustment is achieved due to the phenomenon of the gas transfer from the front volume to the another volume and/or vice versa. In an exemplary embodiment, less than 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the resulting pressure adjustment is achieved due to phenomenon of the gas transfer from the front volume to the back volume or vice versa. In an exemplary embodiment, aside from movement of the diaphragm 54, the back volume size remains constant. Still further, in at least some exemplary embodiments, the implantable microphone is configured to adjust a pressure of the front volume beyond that which results from leakage through a dedicated diaphragm of the transducer and movement of the dedicated diaphragm of the transducer, where “dedicated diaphragm” is the diaphragm 54, as opposed to the diaphragm 52, which is not dedicated to the transducer but instead dedicated to the overall implantable microphone. Again, it is noted that diaphragm 52 is a diaphragm that establishes a hermetic barrier between the interior of the implantable microphone and an exterior thereof, as opposed to diaphragm 54, which is completely entirely inside the implantable microphone and not exposed to the ambient environment thereof.
In view of the above, it can be seen that the implantable microphone is configured to obtain the aforementioned partial equalization/pressure adjustment with a fixed/non adjusted volumetric size of the front volume and/or the back volume and/or the another volume. In an exemplary embodiment, other than movements of the diaphragm 52 and the diaphragm 54, the volumes implicated by the microphone system are fixed. That is, the back volume is established by the volumes of the transducer microphone element assembly 97, and the volume of the back volume is not changed inside or outside the transducer microphone element assembly 97. That is, in some embodiments, the transducer assembly includes a diaphragm (diaphragm 54) that receives vibrations traveling via gas of the front volume, the transducer assembly configured to convert movement of the diaphragm of the transducer to an output signal, and other than a change due to movement of the diaphragm of the transducer, the volumetric size of the back volume is fixed.
In an exemplary embodiment, none of the aforementioned volumes change more than 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% during pressure equalization and/or pressure adjustment relative to the volumes at the beginning of any pressure equalization and/or pressure adjustment.
In an exemplary embodiment, the pressure equalization and/or pressure adjustment is achieved completely passively. There is no control unit, such as a microprocessor or dedicated computer chip or the like that is part of the implantable microphone or part of the implantable component of the prosthesis that controls the pressure adjustment/equalization.
In view of the above, it can be seen that in an exemplary embodiment, there is an implantable microphone that includes a transducer and a chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the microphone based on sound are effectively transmitted therethrough. In this embodiment, the transducer is in effective vibration communication with the gas, and the transducer is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas to an electrical signal, all consistent with the above embodiments. Still further, the chamber and the transducer correspond to a microphone system, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer includes a back volume corresponding to the back volume of the microphone system, and the implantable microphone is configured to obtain pressure equalization/adjustment of the front volume without a volumetric size change of the various volumes described above and/or less than the aforementioned changes.
With reference to the embodiment of
Also, again with reference to
Consistent with the embodiments described above, the another volume is a general unused volume of a main housing of the implantable microphone, the main housing being exposed to body fluids when the implantable microphone is implanted in a human and establishing part of a hermetic barrier of the implantable microphone. It is noted that in some embodiments, the main housing can include electronic components such as an amplifier and/or a microprocessor and/or a battery or otherwise a power storage device and/or an ASIC and/or a PCB. Indeed, in an exemplary embodiment, the housing is part of an integrated housing of a totally implantable hearing prostheses, such as a totally implantable cochlear implant. In this regard, the housing can include a stimulator of the cochlear implant. The other volume would be the volume around one or more or all of these components. The another volume would be the volume that could be filled with a fluid and/or the another volume is the volume that is exposed to the argon gas and/or whatever inert gas is utilized to pressurize or otherwise displace air from inside the housing during the manufacturing process thereof.
It is briefly noted that the designation of the devices being an implantable microphone is not mutually exclusive with a device that has other functionalities, such as the functionality of a stimulator of a cochlear implant. That said, in some embodiments, the devices solely an implantable microphone, wherein the device is configured to be placed into electrical communication with a separate housing that contains the housing of a stimulator by way of example.
Also, in at least some exemplary embodiments, the microphone device is configured (e.g., the front volume, the another volume and the route are sized and dimensioned and configured) to equalize a pressure imbalance of the front volume with the another volume of Z percent relative to the another volume to less than 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the maximum pressure imbalance within and/or no more than H seconds from the maximum pressure imbalance. In an exemplary embodiment, Z is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, or 200 or more, and His 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 2500, or 3000, or any value or range of values in 1 increment (e.g., 300, 400, 100 to 400, etc.). By relative to the another volume, it is meant that the another volume is the denominator. Thus, a pressure of 2.2 units in the front volume and a pressure of 2.0 units in the another volume would be a 10% pressure difference relative to the another volume. The 2.2 units, if the maximum pressure imbalance, is the time from which H starts (i.e., as opposed to 2.15 units). In this regard, the above features are linked to a percentage of the largest pressure imbalance, as opposed to the elimination completely of the pressure imbalance.
Also, in an exemplary embodiment, the device is configured (e.g., the front volume, the another volume and the route are sized and dimensioned and configured—this includes the placement of the porous element between the transducer and the membrane) to prevent the pressure imbalance of Z percent to be equalized faster than I seconds where, in an exemplary embodiment, I is 0.001, 0.002, 0.003, 0.004, 0.005, 0.006, 0.007, 0.008, 0.009. 0.10, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.18, 0.19, 0.2, 0.21, 0.22, 0.23, 0.24, 0.25, 0.26, 0.27, 0.28, 0.29, 0.3, 0.31, 0.32, 0.33, 0.34, 0.35, 0.36, 0.37, 0.38, 0.39, 0.40, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 or 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 125, 150, 175, or 200 or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.001 increments.
It is noted that the above pressure equalizations are achieved in time periods that are greater than or equal to 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 800, 900, or 1000 times, or any value or range of value in 1 increment relative to that which would be the case if the porous element was not present, all else being equal.
In an exemplary embodiment, there is a device, which can be an implantable microphone, including a subcutaneous microphone, comprising a transducer assembly, and a chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the device based on sound are effectively transmitted therethrough. The transducer assembly is in effective vibration communication with the gas, wherein the transducer is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas to an electrical signal, the chamber and the transducer assembly are part of a microphone system of the implantable microphone, wherein the chamber corresponds to a front volume of the microphone system, and the transducer assembly includes a back volume corresponding to at least part of a back volume of the microphone system (the hole 2720 can, in at least some embodiments, effectively expand the back volume, depending on the size of the hole-more on this below), and the device is configured to transfer gas between the chamber and a volume outside the transducer assembly, the volume outside the transducer assembly being a fixed volume.
In some embodiments, the back volume is completely fluidically isolated from volume outside the transducer assembly beyond a fluid transfer route extending directly between the back volume and the front volume, if present (e.g., in the case of a pinhole in the diaphragm 54). Conversely, as seen above, the back volume can be in fluid communication with a volume outside the transducer assembly beyond the fluid transfer route extending directly between the back volume and the front volume, such as via the hole in the back of the transducer of
Again, the volume outside the transducer assembly can be the volume of the housing, which volume is bounded only by the housing, and limited by the components in the housing (the manifold, the transducer, etc.). That said, in an exemplary embodiment, a distinct volume can exist, such as tank 2850 seen in
Thus, in contrast to some of the embodiments where the device is configured to passively transfer gas between the chamber and a volume outside the transducer assembly (e.g., using the porous gasket, etc.), other embodiments are configured to actively transfer gas between the chamber and the volume outside the transducer assembly.
Thus, as can be seen above, the volume outside the transducer assembly is established by a main housing of the implantable microphone that envelopes the front volume and the transducer assembly, in some embodiments, and in some embodiments, is a volume that is established by the walls of the housing, at least in part, and in other embodiments, is a volume that is separate from that established by the housing.
In an exemplary embodiment, a surface area that establishes the another volume/bounds the another volume vis-à-vis gas tightness between the volume and other volumes other than those into which it is in fluid communication is at least 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, or 95 percent, or any value or range of values therebetween in 1% increments established by the inner surfaces of the walls of the housing of the implant. In the embodiments above, the inner surfaces of the walls have opposite surfaces that are exposed to the ambient environment. In an exemplary embodiment, a surface area that establishes the another volume/bounds the another volume vis-à-vis gas tightness between the volume and other volumes other than those into which it is in fluid communication is at least 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, or 70 percent, or any value or range of values therebetween in 1% increments established by the manifold. In the embodiments above, the inner surfaces of the walls have opposite surfaces that are exposed to the ambient environment. In an exemplary embodiment, the manifold is a monolithic piece of metal or polymer that is machined or casted or formed to have the passageways detailed herein and/or variations thereof.
In an exemplary embodiment, the chamber 32 and otherwise the front volume, has a volume of less than or equal to 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, or 8 mm3, or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.1 mm3 increments. The volume outside the transducer assembly to/from which gas is transferred from/to the chamber 32/front volume is greater than or equal to 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, or 600 mm3, or any value or range of values therebetween in 1 mm3 increments.
In some embodiments, the physical phenomenon that is harnessed to achieve the utilitarian value is that there is a relatively large volume of gas relative to the volume of gas of the chamber/the front volume. A pressure change in the chamber 32 that can be significant enough to change the transfer function of the microphone in a meaningful manner can be addressed by venting gas from the chamber into the larger volume in the case of a pressure increase or by drawing in gas to the chamber from the larger volume in the case of a pressure decrease. Depending on the size and dimension of the larger volume, the transfer of gas can occur in quantities that can return the chamber to a given pressure state or otherwise return the pressure in the chamber to a value where the transfer function of the microphone will no longer be meaningfully different relative to that which was the case prior to the pressure change (which can be the set transfer function/transfer function established for normal operation based on a statistical group, such as for use at the average atmosphere pressure between zero and 200 feet above sea level, as a large percentage of U.S. citizens live at such altitudes). In this regard, it is because of the relatively small volume of the front volume/chamber 32 that ambient pressure changes external to the microphone can impact the transfer function of the microphone. If the front volume was relatively large relative to the values detailed above, the pressure changes would not have such an impact on the transfer function, all other things being equal. However, creating a large front volume would reduce the sensitivity of the overall microphone system. And this is why in the embodiments detailed above, transfer of gas between the front volume and the larger volume, such as the volume of the housing, is controlled so that such does not occur to quickly. If the transfer of gas could occur quickly, the volume of the housing would effectively be part of the front volume. But because of the porous gasket for example, the larger volume of the housing is not part of the front volume/is isolated from the front volume, even though the two volumes are in fluid communication with each other. Thus, there is a front volume that has ready access to a supply of gas from a volume many times the size of the front volume and has access to a repository for gas in the front volume that is many times the size of the front volume, while the front volume is effectively a closed volume for purposes of sensitivity of the microphone. This as compared to, for example, what would be the case if the porous gasket was not present and a route between the front volume and the other volume was established by a passageway with an area of 3 mm2 for example (a cylindrical passageway with a 1 mm radius for example).
In this regard, the another volume, such as the volume of the housing, is analogous to/can be considered gas reservoir/overflow volume. This as compared to an expanded front volume or an expanded back volume. That is, just as an automobile radiator can have an overflow, that does not make it an expanded radiator. Thus, for example, by making the passage 2010 small enough, the housing volume is not part of the front volume/is not an expanded front volume. The same is the case with making the passage 2070 small enough so that the housing volume is not part of the back volume/is not an expanded back volume. Conversely, if one makes the holes large enough/increases the porosity of the gasket enough, the housing volumes can become a front or back volume. Embodiments can be implemented to prevent this (effectively isolate the front volume and back volume to those of the pertinent chambers and not the housing). In this regard, if the fluid communication maintains sufficient sensitivity for the microphone to operate in a utilitarian efficacious manner, the volumes have not been expanded.
Thus, by slowing the transfer of gas between the volumes the best of both worlds can be achieved. The limited relative small front volume can be effectively maintained while also permitting gas transfer from that volume to a much larger volume so as to adjust the pressure within the front volume.
And this can also be the principle of operation with respect to the passageway 2010. In an exemplary embodiment, the passageway 2010 and the other passageways are of sufficiently narrow area that gas transfer occurs relatively slowly so as to effectively maintain the front volume as a closed volume even though the front volume is in fluid communication with the larger volume of the housing. By way of example only and not by way of limitation, in an exemplary embodiment, the passageway 2010 is a cylindrical passageway with a diameter (which can be the smallest diameter—the arrangement could be a conical passageway that narrows to the smallest diameter and then widens again—in some embodiments, it is the smallest diameter that controls) of less than or equal to 0.025, 0.05, 0.75, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, or 6 micrometers or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.01 micrometers. If the diameter of the passageway is sufficiently small (if the area of the passageway is sufficiently small), this can slow the transfer of gas between the volumes sufficiently so as to effectively create a closed front volume even though there is fluid transfer between the front volume and the larger volume.
A similar principle of operation (including same) can exist if the opening 2720 in the transducer housing is sufficiently small (again, along the lines of the aforementioned values for example). If gas can be transferred between the inside of the housing of the transducer 97 and the front volume and that gas can be transferred between the inside of the housing the transducer 97 and the volume of the housing of the microphone or otherwise the other large volume, gas can be transferred between the front volume and the larger volume indirectly through the transducer 97 (through the housing of the transducer 97). In this exemplary embodiment, by slowing the transfer of gas between the housing of the transducer 97 and the larger volume of the housing of the implants, the front volume can still be effectively a closed volume concomitant with the embodiments above. And in a similar vein to how the gasket/tiny passage between the chamber 32 and the larger volume does not effectively expand the front volume/effectively maintains a closed front volume, the tiny passage 2720/tiny opening 2720 does not expand the back volume/effectively maintains a closed back volume.
Method 3000 further includes method action 3030, which includes, during a first temporal period beginning after the first temporal location, while continuing to experiencing the first event, automatically changing the transfer function of the microphone system at least back towards the first transfer function by transferring gas between a front volume of the microphone system and another volume that is greater than the back volume of the discrete transducer assembly and at least and/or equal to ABC times greater than the front volume. In an exemplary embodiment, this can include, for example, using the gasket embodiments above, which would adjust while the aircraft is pressurized, and thus adjust during a temporal period while continuing to experience the first event. In an exemplary embodiment, at least in some instances, upon returning the pressure back to the original pressure in the front volume and/or upon the cessation of transferring the gas, the transfer function of the implantable microphone system would be that which was the case at the first temporal location. In an exemplary embodiment, at least in some instances, transfer function of the implantable microphone might be different from that which was the case at the first temporal location, but still much closer to that which was the case at the first temporal location than that which would be the case in the absence of the gas transfer teachings detailed herein and/or variations thereof.
In an exemplary embodiment, ABC is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190 or 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, or 400, or any value or range of values in 0.1 increments. And in some embodiments, this can be a maximum ratio (e.g., the large volume is no more than 200 times the front volume).
In some exemplary embodiments, the first event lasts more than at least 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 75, 90, 105 seconds, 2 minutes, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 or 60 minutes or more at a steady state. In at least some exemplary embodiments, within a time period about half of any of the aforementioned values (e.g., 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25 seconds, etc.), while continuing to experience the first event, method 3000 further includes the action of automatically changing the transfer function of the microphone to effectively B % of the way back to the first transfer function via the transfer of gas, where B can be 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100.
In view of the teachings above, it is clear that in some embodiments, the microphone system that is the subject of method 3000 is part of a hearing prosthesis that includes an implanted noise cancellation system, such as any of the noise cancellation systems detailed above or variations thereof. Also consistent with the teachings detailed above, the noise cancellation system includes an algorithm that cancels feedback, which algorithm is at least partially dependent on the transfer function of the microphone and which algorithm accommodates changes in the transfer function of the microphone. In some embodiments associated with the execution of method 3000, the pressure management system has prevented the noise cancellation system from chasing the changes in the transfer function of the microphone between the first temporal location and an end of the first temporal period. Some additional features of such will be described below.
Also, it is noted that the pressure management systems detailed herein and variations thereof can be utilized while the microphone is functioning to capture sound. Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment of the method 3000, sound is captured during the first temporal period while the pressure is managed.
Some embodiments are such that the pressure management of method 3000 is practiced utilizing passive equalization methods. That is, the pressure management of method 3000 includes passively transferring gas between the front volume and the other volume. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment, the transferring of gas is executed by passive transfer between the front volume and the another volume bypassing a back volume of the microphone system. With respect to the embodiment with the passage in the transducer, the transferring of gas is executed by passive transfer between the front volume and the another volume by transferring gas through the back volume of the microphone system. That said, some embodiments utilize active transfer of gas using the peristaltic pump for example detailed above.
In an exemplary embodiment of method 3000, sound is captured during the first temporal period, the sound capture causing a diaphragm 52 of a transducer 97 of the microphone system to vibrate, and, with the exception, if present, of a path into the transducer 97 through the diaphragm 52, the another volume is fluidically isolated from a back volume of the microphone system.
In an exemplary embodiment, the action of transferring gas between the front volume and the another volume is executed by transferring gas through an element that slows the gas transfer by at least and/or equal to and/or no greater than XYZ times relative to that which would be the case without the use of the element, all else being equal. For example, if the gasket was removed, but the space taken up by the gasket remains, the gasket could slow the gas transfer by at least XYZ through that space. In some embodiments, XYZ can be 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190 or 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, 10000, 12500, 15000, 17500, 20000, 25000, 30000, 35000, or 40000, or any value or range of values in 1 increments.
In an embodiment, the implantable microphone is configured so that the pressure equalization is achieved via gas transfer between the front volume and the another volume through the route, wherein an element retards the gas transfer (e.g., porous body, as distinct from a narrow passage for example). In this embodiment, the microphone would not work in the absence of the element, all else being equal. (Reference the above where the gasket was not present, and the space taken up by the gasket remained, the sensitivity of the microphone would decrease.) In an exemplary embodiment, the absence of the gasket for example reduces the sensitivity of the implantable microphone by at least and/or equal to 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100%, or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.1% increments, relative to that which would be the case in the presence of the gasket. That is, one can test for this by removing the gasket and keeping everything else the same.
In an exemplary embodiment, the another volume is at least a number of times larger than the front volume (any of the values detailed herein) and the device is configured so that gas transfer between the front volume and the another volume to enable pressure equalization has an impact on acoustic sensitivity, if at all, of the microphone system so as to retain an efficacy of the microphone system. Thus, it could be that sensitivity is decreased, but the microphone still has efficacy (by analogy, a drug past its designated shelf life still may have efficacy, but it is not as potent as that which was the case when manufactured).
As noted above, embodiments of the teachings herein can correspond to a hearing prosthesis, comprising an implantable microphone system and an implantable noise cancellation system (or, as some may describe, a sound capture sub-system of an implantable microphone system, and a noise cancellation system of the implantable microphone system, depending on the terminology one uses).
In some embodiments of such embodiments, the hearing prosthesis is configured to evoke a hearing percept based on frequencies above a given frequency (e.g., 100 Hz, 60 Hz, etc.) captured by the microphone system and adjust the noise cancellation system transfer function to accommodate for changes in an environment of the recipient (e.g., pressure changes owing to the movement of a weather front, pressure changes owing to the fact that the recipient is swimming, etc.). In some exemplary embodiments, the implantable microphone is configured to adjust a pressure within a microphone volume in a timeframe fast enough that the adjustment accommodates the noise cancellation system and slow enough that the adjustment accommodates the microphone system. Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, this can avoid a scenario where the pressure management system “chases” the noise cancellation system.
In some embodiments of this hearing prosthesis, the hearing prosthesis is configured to evoke a hearing percept based on a time constant corresponding to more than P Hz and adjust the noise cancellation system transfer function to accommodate the change in the environment within about V of an hour, where P can be 30, 35, 40, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 85, 90, 95 or 100, and V is 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, or 1.5.
Based on the above, it can be seen that the implantable microphone system of some embodiments can include a first transducer (e.g., the transducer microphone element assembly of the sound capture system) and a first chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the microphone are effectively transmitted therethrough, wherein the first transducer is in effective vibration communication with the gas, wherein the transducer is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas to a first electrical signal. Further, the first chamber corresponds to a first front volume of the microphone system, and the first transducer includes a first back volume corresponding to the first back volume of the transducer system.
Further, in this exemplary embodiment, the implantable noise cancellation system includes a second transducer (e.g., the transducer microphone element assembly of the noise cancellation system) and a second chamber in which a gas is located such that vibrations originating external to the microphone are effectively transmitted therethrough. Consistent with the above-noted theory of operation of the noise cancellation system, the second chamber is at least substantially isolated from noise vibrations that are captured by the microphone system. The second transducer is in effective vibration communication with the gas of the second chamber, and the second transducer is configured to convert the vibrations traveling via the gas of the second chamber to a second electrical signal. Here, the second chamber corresponds to a second front volume of the noise cancellation system (where “second” is used for naming purposes only, there are not “two” front volumes of the noise cancellation system). In this embodiment, the hearing prosthesis is configured to enable pressure adjustment of the first front volume in real time (e.g., using any of the embodiments detailed herein, whether active or passive).
In some embodiments, the first front volume is fluidically isolated from the second front volume such that the pressure adjustment in the first front volume does not adjust the pressure of the second front volume. Indeed, in an exemplary embodiment, the front volume of the noise cancellation system does not have any fluid transfer therefrom (save for leakage) other than potentially fluid transfer with the back volume thereof, and the back volume thereof does not have any fluid transfer (save for leakage) other than the potential transfer with the front volume of the noise cancellation system. In some embodiments, the first back volume is fluidically isolated from the second back volume. The above said, the second front volume can have the fluid transfer arrangement of the first front volume in some embodiments.
In some embodiments, the hearing prosthesis is configured such that the pressure adjustment does not impact effective operation of a feedback mitigation algorithm of the hearing prosthesis (i.e., there can be some impact, but the feedback mitigation algorithm is not effectively impacted/the feedback mitigation algorithm will continue to be effective). In at least some exemplary embodiments of such, this prevents or otherwise mitigates the above-noted phenomenon where the feedback management system chases the transfer function of the microphone. In at least some exemplary embodiments, the results of the feedback mitigation algorithm of the hearing prosthesis is the same as if the pressure management system was not present or otherwise not functional. In an exemplary embodiment, the results of the feedback mitigation algorithm are at least a 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100% reduction in noise relative to that which would be the case in the absence of the operation of the feedback mitigation algorithm when the pressure management system is functioning. In an exemplary embodiment, the time that it takes the feedback mitigation algorithm to converge on a set of filter coefficients to be applied to eliminate/reduce feedback is no more than 75, 70, 65, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 1 or 0% longer than that which would be the case in the absence of the pressure management system functioning.
It is noted that in some embodiments, the back volume(s) are zero compliance back volume.
It is noted that for more porous elements, the area “blocked” by the porous elements would be smaller than less porous elements, to achieve the same flow rate, all else equal. In an exemplary embodiment, a gas transfer rate for Helium (and such can be scaled for other gases—helium is the gas of the volumes in some embodiments) is 1E-3 to 1E-4 mbar/sec. In an exemplary embodiment, the transfer rate is less than and/or equal to 0.01, 0.009, 0.008, 0.007, 0.006, 0.005, 0.004, 0.003, 0.002, 0.001, 0.0009, 0.0008, 0.0007, 0.0006, 0.0005, 0.0004, 0.0003, 0.0002, 0.0001, 0.00009, 0.00008, 0.00005, 0.00002, 0.00001, 0.000005, 0.000001 mbar/sec, or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.000001 mbar/second increments. In an exemplary embodiment, the transfer rate is greater than 0.001, 0.0009, 0.0008, 0.0007, 0.0006, 0.0005, 0.0004, 0.0003, 0.0002, 0.0001, 0.00009, 0.00008, 0.00005, 0.00002, 0.00001, 0.000005, 0.000001 mbar/sec, or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.000001 mbar/second increments.
In an exemplary embodiment, the length of the path influences the speed of pressure change, or more accurately, the length of the path that is “constricted” influences the speed of pressure change. By way of example, with reference to the passage, for a given diameter, a shorter passage will results in a faster change than a longer passage, at least with respect to passage diameters that are sized and dimensioned to effectively slow fluid transfer (a 1 mm diameter passage will not have a meaningful impact on the speed of fluid transfer, whether that is 1 mm or 5 mm long for example). In this regard, in an exemplary embodiment, the length of the passageway/small diameter hole can be from 0.5 mm to 2 mm for example, or longer. In an embodiment, the length of the passageway can be equal to or greater than and/or less than 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.75 or 3 mm or greater or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.01 mm increments. This can also be the case with respect to the shortest path through the gasket material. With respect to the embodiment of
And in an exemplary embodiment, the entirety of the area around the through hole 3935 need not be porous. In an exemplary embodiment, a quarter, a half, two thirds, three quarters, etc. of the area there about can be porous, and the other half is nonporous.
In an exemplary embodiment, the gasket is a microporous body that is dimensionally stable, that is highly filled. In an embodiment, the porous material is 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 or 80% or any value or range of values therebetween in 1% increments air by volume. In an exemplary embodiment, the grammage (g/m2) is 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240 or 250 or any value or range of values therebetween in 1 increment, and the density (g/cm3) is 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, or 0.90 or any value or range of values therebetween in 0.01 increments.
In an exemplary embodiment, a porosity of the porous material is less than and/or equal to 10{circumflex over ( )}−3, 10{circumflex over ( )}−4, 10{circumflex over ( )}−5, 10{circumflex over ( )}−6 or 10{circumflex over ( )}−7 mbar·L/s or any value or range of values therebetween in 10{circumflex over ( )}−8 mbar·L/s increments. In an exemplary embodiment, at least and/or equal to 0.15, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7. 0.9, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 or 50 cubic millimeters of the porous material are present through which the gas travels to reach the other volume.
In an exemplary embodiment, the teachings herein can enable deflection of the diaphragm 52 to be more stable over time. For example, say a pressure decrease in ambient pressure occurs. The diaphragm 52 will bow outward a first amount, but over time, such as days, weeks or any of the time periods detailed herein where the front volume is not in fluid communication with the back volume, but tolerance leakage occurs, the diaphragm 52 will continue to bow outward. This will continually change the transfer function of the microphone. Conversely, using the fluid transfer techniques detailed herein, that final bowing will be arrived at much sooner (minutes or the times detailed herein detailed for the embodiment using the fluid transfer). This will result in a stable transfer function after the final bowing is arrived at. This is thus a more stable tensioning on the diaphragm over time. That is, by permitting the diaphragm 52 to reach its steady state point more quickly, there is utilitarian value in such. By way of example, a pressure decrease of 27% within 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 minutes (which can occur in a linear manner over those times) in ambient atmosphere will result in the diaphragm 52 reaching a steady state equilibrium point (tension) and/or a value within 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1% of the steady state value (tension) no faster than and or equal to 30, 45, 60, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 2500, 2750 or 3000 seconds or any value or range of values therebetween in 1 second increments and no slower than 60, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, 2000, 2500, 2750, 3000, 3250, 3500 seconds or any value or range of values therebetween in 1 second increments.
It is noted that any one or more teachings detailed herein can be combined with any other one or more teachings detailed herein in at least some exemplary embodiments, unless otherwise specifically excluded or unless the art does not enable such. It is noted that any one or more teachings detailed herein can be specifically excluded from combination with any other one or more teachings detailed herein in at least some exemplary embodiments, unless otherwise noted or unless the art does not enable such. Any disclosure of an apparatus herein or a system herein corresponds to a disclosure of a method of utilizing such. Any disclosure of a method action herein corresponds to a disclosure of a system and/or a device configured to execute such method actions unless otherwise specified or unless the art does not enable such. Any disclosure of a manufacturing operation herein corresponds to a disclosure of an apparatus that results from such manufacturing operation, and any disclosure of an apparatus herein corresponds to a disclosure of a method of making such apparatus. Any device, system, and/or method that can enable the teachings detailed herein to be practiced can be utilized in at least some exemplary embodiments to implement the teachings herein. Any element or action herein can be not present in an exemplary embodiment.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/241,038, entitled IMPLANTABLE MICROPHONE MANAGEMENT, filed on Sep. 6, 2021, naming Stijn EECKHOUDT of Mechelen, Belgium as an inventor, the entire contents of that application being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2022/058363 | 9/6/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63241038 | Sep 2021 | US |
