WO2017189099A1 - Micro-actionneur de prothèse auditive rempli d'élastomère de silicone - Google Patents

Micro-actionneur de prothèse auditive rempli d'élastomère de silicone Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017189099A1
WO2017189099A1 PCT/US2017/021253 US2017021253W WO2017189099A1 WO 2017189099 A1 WO2017189099 A1 WO 2017189099A1 US 2017021253 W US2017021253 W US 2017021253W WO 2017189099 A1 WO2017189099 A1 WO 2017189099A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
microactuator
piezoelectric transducer
cavity
diameter
sealant
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/US2017/021253
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
S. George Lesinski
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Otokinetics Inc
OTOKINETICS Inc
Original Assignee
Otokinetics Inc
OTOKINETICS Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Otokinetics Inc, OTOKINETICS Inc filed Critical Otokinetics Inc
Publication of WO2017189099A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017189099A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R17/00—Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
    • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
    • H04R25/604—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of acoustic or vibrational transducers
    • H04R25/606—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of acoustic or vibrational transducers acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window

Definitions

  • This disclosure relates generally to microactuators (sometimes referred to as transducers). More particularly it relates to microactuators for use with fully implantable hearing aid systems.
  • Cochlear implants utilize a direct electrical stimulation of the human cochlea to convey a perceivable signal to a human subject.
  • Middle ear implants use mechanical stimulation of the ossicles or middle ear bones to convey a perceivable signal to a human subject.
  • Air conduction hearing aids use a speaker element to create perceivable sound pressure signals in the air of the ear.
  • Some implantable hearing aids have used a piezoelectric stack or pre-stressed piezoelectric materials to form a piezoelectric transducer having sufficient displacement to convey a perceivable signal to a human subject.
  • a microactuator has a proximal end configured to receive an electrical signal and a distal end configured to be inserted into a fenestration of an otic bone to provide access through the lateral wall of the cochlea of a subject.
  • the microactuator may include a piezoelectric transducer assembly having a piezoelectric transducer disposed on a membrane (the piezoelectric transducer having a smaller dimension than a corresponding dimension of the membrane), a silicone elastomer filled cavity with a seal at a first end to a first side of the piezoelectric transducer assembly and open at a second end, a second cavity containing a vacuum or a gas sealed at a first end to a second side of the piezoelectric transducer assembly and at a second end to an end cap.
  • a piezoelectric transducer assembly having a piezoelectric transducer disposed on a membrane (the piezoelectric transducer having a smaller dimension than a corresponding dimension of the membrane), a silicone elastomer filled cavity with a seal at a first end to a first side of the piezoelectric transducer assembly and open at a second end, a second cavity containing a vacuum or a gas sealed at a
  • FIG. 1 is a front elevational drawing of a fully implantable hearing aid microactuator in an implantable sleeve in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional drawing of the fully implantable hearing microactuator in an implantable sleeve of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 thereof;
  • FIG. 3 is an exploded front perspective view of a microactuator in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 4 is another exploded view of the microactuator of FIG. 3 from another perspective;
  • FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a microactuator in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the microactuator taken along line 6- 6 of FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6 of an alternative embodiment of the microactuator according to this invention.
  • FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a microactuator sleeve in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the microactuator sleeve taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the microactuator sleeve taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7;
  • FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a microactuator in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of a microactuator in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a microactuator sleeve in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of a microactuator sleeve in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a microactuator situated in an implantable sleeve in accordance with an embodiment
  • FIG. 15 is a cut-away view of a microactuator in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG. 16 is a process flow diagram illustrating steps for assembly of a microactuator in accordance with an embodiment.
  • Example embodiments are described herein in the context of a microactuator for use with a fully implantable hearing aid. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the example embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used to the extent possible throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like items.
  • FIG. 1 is a front elevational drawing of one embodiment of a fully implantable microactuator 10 having a proximal end 10a and a distal end 10b in accordance with an embodiment situated in an implantable sleeve 12.
  • the implantable sleeve may be formed in a number of ways and implanted into the head of a subject so as to receive the microactuator 10.
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional drawing of the microactuator 10 and sleeve 12 of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2 thereof.
  • Sleeve 12 is configured to have its narrow (or distal) end 14 inserted into a hole drilled into the otic bone within the cochlea of a subject and to be held in place there with an appropriate technology (e.g., adhesives, mechanical locking, interference fit, and the like).
  • Microactuator 10 is locked to sleeve 12 in one embodiment with a biased bayonet-type locking structure comprising one or more pins 16 extending from microactuator 10 to engage one or more corresponding receiving slots 18 of sleeve 12.
  • a partially compressed O-ring 20 (in one embodiment fabricated of silicone) is configured to provide an outward bias between microactuator 10 and sleeve 12 to hold the pin-slot bayonet-type locking structure engaged as well as to provide a liquid-tight seal.
  • Sleeve 12 may therefore be installed first providing a microactuator receptacle, then microactuator 10 is installed into the receptacle and replaced from time to time as required for repair,
  • a first gap 22 between sleeve 12 and microactuator 10 at the narrow end 14 of sleeve 12 may be, in one embodiment, about 0.05 mm.
  • a second gap 24 between microactuator 10 and sleeve 12 in the area of compressed O- ring 20 may, in one embodiment, be about 0.24 mm (in this case with an O-ring having a nominal cross-sectional diameter of 0.051 mm and a nominal inner diameter of 1.21 mm.
  • Microactuator 10 further comprises a piezoelectric transducer membrane assembly 26 with a hot lead 28 coupled to a first electrical contact 30 and a ground lead 32 coupled to the case 34 of microactuator 10 and through that to a second electrical contact 36.
  • First electrical contact 30 is insulated from case 34 of microactuator 10.
  • Piezoelectric transducer membrane assembly 26 may comprise a cylindrical (circular axial cross-section) piezoelectric transducer 26a such as a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) crystal or stack of crystals (or other suitable piezoelectric material or materials) having a first diameter and a thin titanium membrane 26b of circular axial cross-section having a second, larger diameter to which piezoelectric transducer 26a is fixed.
  • PZT lead zirconate titanate
  • Making the piezoelectric transducer of smaller dimension than the membrane on which it is fixed provides an improved response by decoupling somewhat the piezoelectric transducer 26a from the case 34 through the flexible action of membrane 26b.
  • FIG. 3 is an exploded front perspective view of a microactuator 10 in accordance with an embodiment. From bottom to top the primary parts of the microactuator 10 are: feed through flange 38, microactuator end cap 40, piezoelectric transducer membrane assembly 26 (comprising piezoelectric transducer 26a and membrane 26b), microactuator flange 42 with pins 16 and plugs 44 (for plugging ports in pins 16), microactuator distal diaphragm 46 (formed in one embodiment of thin (19 microns +/-1 microns thick) titanium (a thickness range of about 5 microns to about 100 microns being appropriate), and O-ring 20. Distal Diaphragm 46 may be omitted in certain embodiments of this invention.
  • Microactuator end cap 40 may be a ceramic feed-through that will form a hermetically sealed, back cavity 60 with the piezoelectric transducer membrane assembly 26 to isolate the piezoelectric transducer 26a electrically and so that it does not come into contact with the tissue of the subject.
  • Back cavity 60 may be partially or totally evacuated or may alternatively contain a gas such as air, nitrogen, argon, helium or the like or a combination thereof.
  • Microactuator flange 42 comprises in one embodiment a first proximal cylindrical portion 42a and a second cylindrical portion 42b coupled together, as, for example, with metal disk portion 42c.
  • the second distal cylindrical portion 42b has a smaller diameter than the first proximal cylindrical portion 42a so that it can fit into sleeve 12 which is disposed through a fenestration in an otic bone to reach through the lateral wall of the cochlea of a subject.
  • This arrangement allows the microactuator to stop at a predetermined amount of insertion into the sleeve which also has corresponding cylindrical portions of different diameters.
  • the first proximal cylindrical portion 42a has a pair of ports 42d through pins 16 which allow liquid to be placed into cavity 54 formed inside microactuator flange 42 and then sealed with plugs 44 as described in more detail below.
  • FIG. 4 is another exploded view of microactuator 10 from another perspective.
  • FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of microactuator 10.
  • FIG. 6 is a cross- sectional view thereof taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.
  • FIG. 7 is a top plan view of sleeve 12.
  • FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7.
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of FIG. 7.
  • FIG. 10 is a top plan view of microactuator 10 in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of microactuator 10 in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG. 12 is a top plan view of sleeve 12 in accordance with an
  • FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of sleeve 12 in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG. 14 is a top plan view of microactuator 10 situated in sleeve 12 in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG. 15 is a cut-away view of microactuator 10 in accordance with an embodiment.
  • a sealant cavity 48 (initially open at the top) is defined at an outer periphery by the inside of feed-through flange 38 and is in one embodiment filled with a silicone sealant material (although those of ordinary skill in the art will now realize that other suitable sealant materials may be used instead).
  • This sealant material protects first and second electrical contacts (30, 36), provides strain relief for microactuator lead wires 50 which couple microactuator 10 to other hearing aid component (not shown) and seals the proximal end 52 of microactuator 10 from moisture infiltration.
  • Cavity 54 configured to contain body 54a as discussed above is defined at an outer periphery by the inside wall of narrow portion 56 of microactuator 10 at a distal end 58 of microactuator 10, and at a proximal end by piezoelectric transducer membrane assembly 26. Cavity 54 may be filled as described in more detail below in order to improve performance of the microactuator in conveying the impression of sound to the inner ear of a subject.
  • the piezoelectric transducer 26a has a thickness along a longitudinal axis in a range of from about 25 microns to about 500 microns with 100 microns used in one example, the membrane 26b has a thickness in a range of from about 5 microns to about 100 microns with 25 microns used in one example, and the diaphragm 46, if included, has a thickness in a range of from about 5 microns to about 100 microns with 19 microns +/-1 microns used in one example. In one embodiment the piezoelectric transducer 26a is soldered to the membrane 26b.
  • FIG. 16 a process flow diagram illustrating a method for constructing microactuator 10.
  • hot lead which may comprise gold such as gold wirebond
  • the back cavity which is a cavity filled as described and located between the piezoelectric transducer membrane assembly 26 and microactuator end cap 40. It also creates the cavity 54.
  • the back cavity may be evacuated, partially evacuated or filled with a selected gas or gasses at this time by conducting the operation in an environment which is evacuated or filled with the selected gas or gasses.
  • Plugs 44 are inserted into the ports 42d and laser welded to hermetically seal them.
  • the laser welding forms a seal before the heat from the welding can appreciably heat the content in the cavity 54.
  • a single port 42d and corresponding plug 44 could be used as could more than two ports 42d and corresponding plugs 44 as will now be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
  • all surfaces in contact with the body of the subject may be of medical grade titanium except the medical grade silicone which may be used in the sealant cavity and Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) which is a biocompatible material which may be used for insulating the microactuator lead wires 50.
  • ETFE Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Prostheses (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un micro-actionneur (10) qui comporte une extrémité proximale (10a) configurée de sorte à recevoir un signal électrique et une extrémité distale (10b) configurée de sorte à être insérée lors d'une fenestration d'un os otique pour fournir un accès à travers la paroi latérale de la cochlée d'un sujet. Le micro-actionneur comprend un ensemble transducteur piézoélectrique (26) ayant un transducteur piézoélectrique (26a) disposé sur une membrane (26b). Le transducteur piézoélectrique présente une dimension inférieure à une dimension correspondante de la membrane. Une cavité (48) est remplie d'un élastomère de silicone scellé au niveau d'une première extrémité à un premier côté de l'ensemble transducteur piézoélectrique (26) et exposée à une seconde extrémité. Une seconde cavité contenant un vide ou un gaz est scellée au niveau d'une première extrémité à un second côté de l'ensemble transducteur piézoélectrique (26) et au niveau d'une seconde extrémité à un capuchon d'extrémité (40).
PCT/US2017/021253 2016-04-29 2017-03-08 Micro-actionneur de prothèse auditive rempli d'élastomère de silicone Ceased WO2017189099A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201662329420P 2016-04-29 2016-04-29
US62/329,420 2016-04-29
US201662334072P 2016-05-10 2016-05-10
US62/334,072 2016-05-10

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WO2017189099A1 true WO2017189099A1 (fr) 2017-11-02

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN115243650A (zh) * 2019-12-23 2022-10-25 米努恩德公司 听力保护装置
WO2025054207A1 (fr) * 2023-09-05 2025-03-13 Iota Biosciences, Inc. Transducteurs ultrasonores pour dispositifs implantables

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5031219A (en) * 1988-09-15 1991-07-09 Epic Corporation Apparatus and method for conveying amplified sound to the ear
US20020032362A1 (en) * 1997-12-18 2002-03-14 Juneau Roger P. Method of manufacturing a soft hearing aid
US20090030529A1 (en) * 2003-07-23 2009-01-29 Med-El Elektro-Medizinische Gerate Gesellschaft M.B.H. Totally implantable hearing prosthesis
US20100048983A1 (en) * 2008-08-21 2010-02-25 Med-El Elektromedizinische Geraete Gmbh Multipath Stimulation Hearing Systems
US20130303835A1 (en) * 2012-05-10 2013-11-14 Otokinetics Inc. Microactuator

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5031219A (en) * 1988-09-15 1991-07-09 Epic Corporation Apparatus and method for conveying amplified sound to the ear
US20020032362A1 (en) * 1997-12-18 2002-03-14 Juneau Roger P. Method of manufacturing a soft hearing aid
US20090030529A1 (en) * 2003-07-23 2009-01-29 Med-El Elektro-Medizinische Gerate Gesellschaft M.B.H. Totally implantable hearing prosthesis
US20100048983A1 (en) * 2008-08-21 2010-02-25 Med-El Elektromedizinische Geraete Gmbh Multipath Stimulation Hearing Systems
US20130303835A1 (en) * 2012-05-10 2013-11-14 Otokinetics Inc. Microactuator

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN115243650A (zh) * 2019-12-23 2022-10-25 米努恩德公司 听力保护装置
WO2025054207A1 (fr) * 2023-09-05 2025-03-13 Iota Biosciences, Inc. Transducteurs ultrasonores pour dispositifs implantables

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