Patent ID: 9180295
Filing Date: 2015-11-10
Classification: A61F,A61N,H04R

Abstract:
1. A method of generating electrode stimulation signals for an implanted electrode array in a bilateral cochlear implant system with interaurally mismatched left and right side implanted electrode arrays, the method comprising: processing an acoustic audio signal input with a bank of filters, each filter being associated with a band of audio frequencies, to generate a set of band pass signals, each band pass signal corresponding to the band of frequencies associated with one of the filters and having a filter-associated group delay time; extracting stimulation information from the band pass signals to generate a set of stimulation event signals defining electrode stimulation signals; weighting the stimulation event signals based on a tonotopic approach using a weighted matrix of stimulation amplitudes reflecting patient-specific perceptual characteristics, interaural time delays (ITD), and the different filter-associated group delay times to produce a set of bilaterally optimized electrode stimulation signals with ITD directional information and restored tonotopicity to interaurally matched nerve populations; and developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to electrode contacts in one of the interaurally mismatched electrode arrays.