Patent ID: 8577473
Filing Date: 2013-11-05
Classification: A61N,H04R

Abstract:
1. An implantable stimulation arrangement for generating electrode stimulation signals for stimulation electrodes in a cochlear implant, the arrangement comprising: a preprocessor filter bank for processing an input acoustic audio signal to generate a plurality of band pass signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; an information extractor for extracting stimulation signal information from the band pass signals based on assigning the band pass signals to a plurality of electrode stimulation groups each containing one or more stimulation electrodes, and generating a set of stimulation event signals for each electrode stimulation group that define electrode stimulation timings and amplitudes; a pulse selector for selecting a set of electrode stimulation signals from the stimulation event signals in a recurring stimulation cycle based on the electrode stimulation groups based on a pulse weighting function that uses channel-specific weighting factors favoring lower frequencies for activating the stimulation electrodes to stimulate neighboring audio nerve tissue, wherein for at least one stimulation group the pulse selector varies over time which specific stimulation electrodes are activated in each stimulation cycle; and a pulse shaper for developing the electrode stimulation signals into a set of output electrode pulses to the stimulation electrodes based on patient specific factors.