Patent ID: 11969595
Assignee: ADVANCED BIONICS AG
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 16:
17. A cochlear implant system comprising:
an electrode lead configured to be surgically inserted into a cochlea of a patient, the electrode lead including:
a first electrode and a second electrode that are each configured as stimulating electrodes that apply stimulation to cochlear tissue within the cochlea when the electrode lead is located at a resting position subsequent to surgical insertion of the electrode lead into the cochlea, and
a third electrode that is configured to detect an energy magnitude of a field that reflects from cochlear tissue located within the field;

a cochlear implant configured to be implanted within the patient and coupled with the electrode lead, the cochlear implant further configured to concurrently apply a first pulse by way of the first electrode and a second pulse by way of the second electrode to form a dipole that generates the field; and
a sound processor communicatively coupled with the cochlear implant and configured to:
direct the cochlear implant to concurrently apply the first and second pulses,
detect the energy magnitude of the field using the third electrode, and
determine, based on the detected energy magnitude of the field, a proximity of the electrode lead to the cochlear tissue.