Being an Audiologist wandering through the Wonderful World of Patents is like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. I’m sure it’s better than mushrooms and the supply seems endless.
New Patents, Birth Announcements, and Rebirths in WondEAR World
May/June brought a shower of patents having to do with implants, adjustable magnet systems, spacers, bone conduction vibration, light detectors and duty cycles. Check out EarLens patents 8715152, 3 & 4 below.
EarLens was hatched by Rodney Perkins, MD, the “serial entrepreneur” whose newest child, Soundhawk, was announced last year in David Kirkwood’s column, As Kirkwood reported today, Soundhawk broke out of its shell this week and made all the headlines as a “hearable” wearable. For Audiologists and dispensers still occupying the world of old, “wearable” is the New Black and “hearable” is the new It Word.
If you find that last sentence conceptually challenging, click on Brent Edwards’ illuminating 15-minute Ted-like talk on YouTube for a pleasant introduction to what’s to be found when you go down the rabbit hole.
Could You Repeat That, Louder, Please?
Even those who understand wearables may grapple with this Mad Hatter sentence, found in Panasonic’s patent #8744100 (issued 6/03/14):
“a hearing-aid processing control unit configured to generate control information for controlling signal processing, based on a non-audible sound which is made by the user and is hard to hear from outside”
Think about it. What sound is below threshold for the user/source but slightly above threshold for others/receivers? Is this how it’s going to be when wirelessly powered micro-implants rule the ears and air waves? As the Mad Hatter said, “We’re all mad here,” but what fun. Read on for more patent fun.
| Description | Patent Number | Assignee | Issued |
| Methods and Systems for Registering and Identifying a Cochlear Implant Emulation Device and Managing Data Associated Therewith | 8700169 | Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) | 4/15/2014 |
| Systems and Methods for Providing a Pre-Stimulation Visual Cue Representative of a Cochlear Implant Stimulation Level | 8700168 | Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) | 4/15/2014 |
| Methods and Systems for Acoustically Controlling a Cochlear Implant System | 8705783 | Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) | 4/22/2014 |
| Remote Audio Processor Module for Auditory Prosthesis Systems | 8706247 | Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) | 4/22/2014 |
| Fully Implantable Cochlear Implant Systems Including Optional External Components and Methods for Using the Same | 8706246 | Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) | 4/22/2014 |
| Noise spectrum Tracking in Noisy Acoustical Signals | 8712074 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark) | 4/29/2014 |
| Hearing Instrument Configured for Wireless Communication in Bursts and a Method of Supplying a Power to Such | 8718304 | GN Resound A/S A/S (Taastrup, Denmark) | 5/06/2014 |
| Electroactive Polymer Systems | 8718313 | Personics Holdings, LLC. | 5/06/2014 |
| Securing an Implanted Medical Device in a Patient | 8718795 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/06/2014 |
| Hearing Aid System for Establishing a Conversation Group | 8718303 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 5/06/2014 |
| Hearing Aid Apparatus | 8718307 | Daniel R. Schumaier (Elizabethton, TN) | 5/06/2014 |
| Hearing Device with a Detachable Coupled Earpiece | 8718306 | Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 5/06/2014 |
| Optical Electro-Mechanical Hearing Devices with Separate Power and Signal Components | 8715152 | EarLens Corporation (Redwood City, CA) | 5/06/2014 |
| Optically Coupled Bone Conduction Systems and Methods | 8715153 | EarLens Corporation (Redwood City, CA) | 5/06/2014 |
| Optically Coupled Cochlear Actuator Systems and Methods | 8715154 | EarLens Corporation (Redwood City, CA) | 5/06/2014 |
| System for Customizing Hearing Assistance Devices | 8718288 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 5/06/2014 |
| Mixing of In-the-Ear Microphone and Outside-the-Ear Microphone Signals to Enhance Spatial Perception | 8718302 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 5/06/2014 |
| Securing an Implanted Medical Device in a Patient | 8718795 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/06/2014 |
| Radio Receiver, Radio Transmitter, and Hearing Aid | 8724835 | NXP B.V. (Eindhoven, Netherlands) | 5/13/2014 |
| Simultaneous-Script Execution | 8725267 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/13/2014 |
| Hearing Aid | 8731221 | Panasonic Corp. (Osaka, Japan) | 5/20/2014 |
| Bone Conduction Device Fitting | 8731205 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/20/2014 |
| Insulated Conductive Element Having a Substantially Continuous Barrier Layer Formed through Multiple Coatings | 8726492 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/20/2014 |
| System Comprising a Portable Electronic Device with a Time Function | 8737650 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark) | 5/20/2014 |
| Hearing Device with Two or More Microphones and Two or More Resonators Having Different Lengths and the Same Resonant Frequency | 8724836 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark) | 5/20/2014 |
| Noise Reduction System for Hearing Assistance Devices | 8737653 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 5/27/2014 |
| System for Measuring Maximum Stable Gain in Hearing Assistance Devices | 8737655 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 5/27/2014 |
| Methods and Apparatus for Improved Noise Reduction for Hearing Assistance Devices | 8737654 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 5/27/2014 |
| Three Dimensional Substrate for Hearing Assistance Devices | 8737658 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 5/27/2014 |
| Method for Operating a Hearing Device with selectively Adjusted Signal Weighing Values | 8737652 | Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 5/27/2014 |
| Hearing Device with Feedback-Reduction Filters Operated in Parallel, and Method | 8737656 | Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 5/27/2014 |
| Bone Conduction Device with a User Interface | 8737649 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/27/2014 |
| Coil Retention Systems for Implantable Medical Devices | 8733494 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/27/2014 |
| Bone Conduction Device with a User Interface | 8737649 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 5/27/2014 |
| Method for Adjusting a Hearing Device with Frequency Transposition and Corresponding Arrangement | 8737631 | Phonak AG (Stafa, Switzerland) | 5/27/2014 |
| Hearing Assistance System and Method | 8737651 | Phonak AG (Stafa, Switzerland) | 5/27/2014 |
| Suspension for a Hearing Device Receiver, and a Method of Producing a Hearing Device, and a Hearing Device | 8737657 | GN Resound A/S A/S (Taastrup, Denmark) | 5/27/2014 |
| Fitting Device and a Method of Fitting a Hearing Device to Compensate for the Hearing Loss of a User; and a Hearing Device and a Method of Reducing Feedback in a Hearing Device | 8744103 | GN Resound A/S A/S (Taastrup, Denmark) | 6/03/2014 |
| Method for Testing a Wireless Communication System in Connection with a Fitting Device and a Hearing Device as Well as a Communication System | 8744092 | Phonak AG (Stafa, Switzerland) | 6/03/2014 |
| Hearing Device with Reduced Acoustic Wind Sensitivity | 8744107 | Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 6/03/2014 |
| Configuring an Electrically Stimulating Device to Stimulate Using a Subset of Electrode Contacts | 8744590 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 6/03/2014 |
| Hearing Aid, and a Method for Control of Adaptation Rate in Anti-Feedback Systems for Hearing Aids | 8744102 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 6/03/2014 |
| Hearing Aid with Adaptive Bulk Biasing Power Management | 8744105 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 6/03/2014 |
| Hearing Aid in Which Signal Processing Is Controlled Based on a Correlation between Multiple Input Signals | 8744100 | Panasonic Corp. (Osaka, Japan) | 6/03/2014 |
| Entrainment Avoidance with Pole Stabilization | 8744104 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 6/03/2014 |
| System for Controlling the Primary Lobe of a Hearing Instrument’s Directional sensitivity Pattern | 8744101 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 6/03/2014 |
| Hearing Aid with Adaptive Bulk Biasing Power Management | 8744105 | Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) | 6/03/2014 |
| Hearing Aid Compatibility in a Wireless Communications Device | 8750929 | BlackBerry Ltd. (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) | 6/10/2014 |
| Listening Device Adapted for Establishing an Electric Connection to an External Device Using Electrically Conductive Parts of One or More Components of the Listening Device | 8750548 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark) | 6/10/2014 |
| Cochlear Electrode Array | 8751019 | Cochlear Ltd (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 6/10/2014 |
| Hearing Assistance Devices with Echo Cancellation | 8750545 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 6/10/2014 |
| Sound Processors and Implantable Cochlear Stimulation Systems Including the Same | 8750546 | Advanced Bionics (Valencia, CA) | 6/10/2014 |
| Stability and Speech Audibility Improvements in Hearing Aids | 8755545 | GN Resound A/S A/S (Taastrup, Denmark) | 6/17/2014 |
| Hearing Apparatus Having a Special Sound Channel | 8755551 | Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) | 6/17/2014 |
| Reference Electrodes for Inner Ear Stimulation Devices | 8755910 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 6/17/2014 |
| Automatic Performance Optimization for Perceptual Devices | 8755533 | Audigence Inc; Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 6/17/2014 |
| Universal Flexible In-the-Ear Hearing Aid | 8755549 | Jiangsu Betterlife Medical Co. Ltd (Changshu, China) | 6/17/2014 |
| Ear Mould and Hearing Aid with Open In-Ear Receiving Device | 8755548 | Jiangsu Betterlife Medical Co. Ltd (Changshu, China) | 6/17/2014 |
| Sound Processing Apparatus, Sound Processing Method and Hearing Aid | 8755546 | Panasonic Corp. (Osaka, Japan) | 6/17/2014 |
| Speaker, Hearing Aid, Earphone, and Portable Terminal Device | 8755558 | Panasonic Corp. (Osaka, Japan) | 6/17/2014 |
| Portable Electronic Device and Computer-Readable Medium for Remote Hearing Aid Profile Storage | 8761421 | Audiotoniq Inc. (Austin, Texas) | 6/24/2014 |
| Frequency translation by high-frequency spectral envelope warping in hearing assistance devices | 8761422 | Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn.) | 6/24/2014 |
| Listening system comprising an alerting device and a listening device | 8760284 | Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark) | 6/24/2014 |
| Cochlear implant with modified intracochlear electrode member | 8761904 | Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) | 6/24/2014 |
Editor’s note: The Patent Series is updated every two months. Click links for patents approved in Mar/Apr 2014, Jan/Feb 2014, Nov/Dec 2013, September/October 2013, Jul/Aug 2013, May/Jun 2013, Mar/Apr 2013, Jan/Feb 2013, Nov/Dec 2012 feature image courtesy of bp blogspot
light detectors and duty cycles. Check out EarLens patents 8715152, 3 & 4 below. gladys cobb