Patent ID: 8250745

Claim:
A process for manufacturing a single microcircuit into an integrated cochlear electrode array, comprising: securing and supporting a nonconductive film substrate; attaching a metallic ribbon to a surface of the film substrate; machining a flat multiconductor microcircuit from the ribbon including (i) a flat elongated multiconductor tail portion with spaced outwardly exposed electrode receiving pads, and (ii) a flat multiconductor head portion connected to the tail portion and having spaced outwardly exposed attachment pads; laminating the flat microcircuit between the film substrate and an insulating cover; excising the laminated microcircuit from the film substrate with the electrode receiving pads exposed; wrapping the tail portion of the excised laminated microcircuit into a helix with the exposed electrode receiving pads wrapped around the insulating cover; mounting and electrically connecting the ring electrodes on and to the exposed electrode receiving pads; and overmolding the helix tail portion with a polymeric material to ready the microcircuit for cochlear implant.