Patent ID: 9333338
Filing Date: 2016-05-10
CPC Classification: A61B,A61N

Claim Text:
1. A method of implanting a cochlear implant electrode in a cochlea having a single internal cavity defined by an outer cavity wall, the method comprising: inserting through a single cochleostomy opening a distal end of an implantable electrode array made of a resilient electrode carrier material and having an outer surface with one or more stimulation contacts for delivering electrical stimulation signals to adjacent neural tissue; wherein the distal end is attached to an insertion line made of a line material different from the electrode carrier material and configured to have an extra-cochlear end extending outside the cochleostomy opening during the inserting; continuing to feed the electrode array through the cochleostomy opening into the cochlea while holding the extra-cochlear end outside the cochlea, until the distal end of the electrode array contacts the outer cavity wall opposite the cochleostomy opening, to maneuver all of the stimulation contacts against the outer cavity wall; and after the distal end of the electrode array contacts the outer cavity wall, retracting the insertion line back through the cochleostomy opening while continuing to feed the electrode array through the cochleostomy opening into the cochlea until the distal end of the electrode array reaches the cochleostomy opening.