Patent ID: 8417348

Claim:
A method of activating electrodes in an implanted multi-channel electrode array where each channel is associated with an electrode in the array, the method comprising: processing an input audio signal to produce a plurality of output channel signals each representing an associated band of audio frequencies; processing the output channel signals in a sequence of sampling intervals, wherein for each sampling interval, the processing includes: i. determining for each output channel signal: a) a set of requested pulse timings containing a plurality of pulse timing requests, and b) a set of corresponding envelope signals representing pulse magnitude for pulse timing requests; and ii. determining for each set of requested pulse timings: a) a set of output pulses at specified times selected from the set of requested pulse timings based on a pulse selection inhibition function configured to select a lower proportion of pulse timings corresponding to a band having a relatively high frequency than pulse timings corresponding to a band having a relatively low frequency, and b) a stimulation amplitude associated with each output pulse; and activating electrodes in the array with corresponding output pulses at their associated stimulation amplitudes.