Patent ID: 6219580
Filing Date: 2001-04-17
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
A cochlear implant system comprising:an external portion that includesan acoustic transducer for sensing acoustic signals and converting them to electrical signals, andanalog front end (AFE) circuitry for preliminarily processing the electrical signals produced by the acoustic transducer;an implantable portion that includesan electrode array having a plurality of spaced-apart electrodes for implantation in the cochlea, andan implantable cochlear stimulator (ICS) connected to the electrode array for generating electrical stimuli defined by control signals; anda speech processor (SP) that generates the control signals used by the ICS;wherein the electrical stimuli generated by the ICS are modulated by the sensed acoustic signals in accordance with a selected speech processing strategy; and further whereina portion of the speech processor responsible for defining a portion of the speech processing strategy is located within the implantable portion of the system;whereby only modulation data corresponding to the sensed acoustic signals need be continuously sent to the implantable portion of the system from the external portion of the system during use of the system.