US 12,109,414 B2
Background stimulation for fitting cochlear implants
Richard Penninger, Innsbruck (AT); and Sascha Fuchs, Innsbruck (AT)
Assigned to MED-EL ELEKTROMEDIZINISCHE GERAETE GMBH, Innsbruck (AT)
Filed by MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH, Innsbruck (AT)
Filed on Mar. 17, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/185,913.
Application 18/185,913 is a continuation of application No. 17/262,662, abandoned, previously published as PCT/US2019/038875, filed on Jun. 25, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/702,944, filed on Jul. 25, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2023/0226353 A1, Jul. 20, 2023
Int. Cl. A61N 1/36 (2006.01); A61N 1/05 (2006.01)
CPC A61N 1/36039 (2017.08) [A61N 1/0541 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium having instructions thereon for fitting an implanted patient and a hearing implant system having an implanted electrode array with a plurality of electrode contacts, the instructions comprising:
iteratively fitting a plurality of fitting electrode contacts by, for each of the fitting electrode contacts:
i. delivering fitting stimulation signals to the fitting electrode contact and at least one neighboring electrode contact to stimulate adjacent auditory neural tissue, wherein the fitting stimulation signals are characterized by a charge level distribution function having a non-zero noise level charge at the at least one neighboring electrode contact and a response level charge much greater than the noise level charge at the fitting electrode contact, and
ii. obtaining patient responses from the implanted patient to the fitting stimulation signals; and
defining a patient-specific fit map for the electrode contacts of cochlear implant electrode array based on the patient responses.