Patent ID: 7730892

Claim:
An apparatus to stimulate the vestibular system of an individual, the apparatus comprising: an actuator configured to be in contact with a portion of the endosteum that forms the inner lining of a bony labyrinth, and to displace the portion of endosteum, thereby causing a displacement of a semicircular canal formed from the membranous labyrinth and suspended within perilymph that fills the bony labyrinth, wherein movement of the endolymph causes hairs on a cupula to bend in response to an extent of the displacement; and a control module coupled to the actuator that controls the actuator in response to motion information associated with the individual, wherein the actuator comprises one or more controls for setting one or more of an adjustable frequency of the actuator, an adjustable amplitude of the actuator, and a duration of actuation of the actuator, and wherein the actuator is further configured to be calibrated to determine experimentally, for a particular set of motion information of the patient, the associated at least one of the frequency of actuation, the amplitude of actuation, and the duration of actuation.