Bone Conduction Transducer System with Adjustable Retention Force

摘要

An external component for a bone conduction hearing implant is described. An external housing contains an electromagnetic drive coil, a coil core, and at least one spacer container located adjacent to one of the longitudinal ends of the coil core and configured to hold an optional removable spacer piece. The coil core and any pole pieces and side pieces are configured to magnetically interact with an implant magnet in the bone conduction transducer in the absence of electrical current in the drive coil to hold the external housing in the fixed attachment on the skin of the hearing implant patient over the bone conduction transducer. And electrical current in the drive coil magnetically interacts with the coil core and any pole pieces and side pieces to generate the implant communication signals to the implant magnet to create a mechanical vibration signal in the bone conduction transducer for perception by the patient as sound.

主权项

1. An external component for a bone conduction hearing implant system, the component comprising:
an external housing for fixed attachment on the skin of a hearing implant patient over an implanted bone conduction transducer; a housing interior located within the external housing and containing:
i. an electromagnetic drive coil fixed within the housing interior and configured for conducting electrical current to develop implant communication signals for the bone conduction transducer,ii. a coil core made of a non-magnetized ferromagnetic material fixed within the drive coil, the coil core including opposing longitudinal ends and opposing longitudinal sides, andiii. at least one spacer container located adjacent to one of the longitudinal ends of the coil core and configured to hold an optional removable spacer piece; wherein the housing interior further comprises at least one of:
i. a pair of opposing pole piece containers located adjacent to the opposing longitudinal ends of the coil core and any spacer containers, each pole piece container being configured to hold an optional removable ferromagnetic pole piece, andii. a pair of opposing side piece containers located at the opposing longitudinal sides of the coil core, each side piece container being configured to hold an optional removable ferromagnetic side piece; wherein the coil core and any pole pieces and side pieces are configured to magnetically interact with an implant magnet in the bone conduction transducer in the absence of electrical current in the drive coil to hold the external housing in the fixed attachment on the skin of the hearing implant patient over the bone conduction transducer; and wherein electrical current in the drive coil magnetically interacts with the coil core and any pole pieces and side pieces to generate the implant communication signals to the implant magnet to create a mechanical vibration signal in the bone conduction transducer for perception by the patient as sound.