Summary: Envoy Medical has announced four new patents enhancing cochlear implant systems, focusing on signal processing, calibration, and diagnostics.
Takeaways
- Innovative Integration: Two patents address the combination of cochlear implants and external hearing aids, enabling real-time adjustments to optimize performance.
- Improved Calibration: A patent introduces methods for precise current flow calibration in cochlear implants, ensuring accurate stimulation and performance.
- Advanced Diagnostics: One patent focuses on electrode impedance diagnostics, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of cochlear implant systems through improved monitoring.
Envoy Medical, a hearing health company focused on providing innovative solutions for people with hearing loss, had announced four new patents.
First Patent
The US Patent & Trademark Office issued Envoy Medical Corporation US Pat. No. 12,151,102 on Nov. 25, 2024. The title of the patent is Combination Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant System. This patent relates to updating a transfer function associated with an implanted signal processor of a cochlear implant system to compensate for operation of an external auditory aid device, such as a hearing aid, that affects a stimulus received at an input source of the cochlear implant system and input signals representative of the stimulus.
Second Patent
The European Patent Office will grant European Patent No. 4255554 to Envoy Medical Corporation on Jan. 1, 2025. The title is Combination Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant System. This patent relates to cochlear implant systems and receiving a status indicator signal indicative of whether an external auditory aid device (e.g., a hearing aid) is active, and updating a transfer function of a signal processor of the cochlear implant system to compensate for operation of the external auditory aid device if it is active.
Third Patent
The European Patent Office will grant European Patent No. 4255555 to Envoy Medical Corporation on Jan. 1, 2025. The title is Cochlear Implant Stimulation Calibration. This patent relates to calibrating current flow in a cochlear implant system. A switching network can be controlled to place a source element of a cochlear implant system in communication with a testing circuit. An amount of electrical current provided to the testing circuit can be determined, and the output of the source element can be adjusted based on the determined amount of electrical current.
Fourth Patent
The European Patent Office will grant European Patent No. 4319866 to Envoy Medical Corporation on Jan. 1, 2025. The title is Cochlear Implant System with Electrode Impedance Diagnostics. This patent relates to electrode impedance diagnostics in cochlear implant systems. A cochlear implant system can determine an impedance associated with a current path from a source element to a return electrode and determine one or more stimulation parameters for the source element based on the impedance. An example stimulation parameter can include a compliance voltage for the source element to provide a prescribed current.
Further Reading
“We will continue to invest in the development and protection of intellectual property as we grow,” says Brent Lucas, CEO of Envoy Medical, “We intend for Envoy Medical to be synonymous with meaningful innovation in the hearing loss industry for decades to come.”
