A New Type of Wireless Transmission Based on Digital Direct Modulation for Use in Partially Implantable Hearing Aids

In this study, we developed a new type of wireless transmission system for use in partially implantable hearing aids. This system was designed for miniaturization and low distortion, and features direct digital modulation. The sigma-delta output, which has a high SNR due to oversampling and noise shaping technology, is used as the data signal and is transmitted using a wireless transmission system to the implant unit through OOK without restoration as an audio signal, thus eliminating the need for additional circuits (i.e., LPF and a reference voltage supply circuit) and improving the ease of implantation and reliability of the circuit. We selected a carrier frequency of 27 MHz after analysis of carrier attenuation by human tissue, and designed the communication coil with reference to both the geometry and required communication distance. Circuit design and simulation for wireless transmission were performed using Multisim 13.0. The system was fabricated based on the circuit design; the size of the device board was 13 mm × 13 mm, the size of the implanted part was 9 mm × 9 mm, the diameter of the transmitting/receiving coil was 26 mm, and the thicknesses of these coils were 0.5 and 0.3 mm, respectively. The difference (error) between the detected and simulation waveforms was about 5%, and was thought to be due to the tolerances of the fabricated communication coil and elements (resistors, capacitors, etc.) used in the circuit configuration of the system. The number of windings was reduced more than 9-fold compared to the communication coil described by Taghavi et al. The measured THD was <1% in the frequency band from 100 Hz to 10 kHz, thus easily meeting the standard specification for hearing aids.

Low-Frequency Piezoelectric Accelerometer Array for Fully Implantable Cochlear Implants

We demonstrate a low-volume, stress-free, piezoelectric micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) cantilever array for fully implantable hearing aids. The 12-element spiral-matrix is sensitive to the lower part of audible frequency range (300–700 Hz) through the proper resonant frequency of the individual spirals tuned by dimensions of the cantilevers. The obtained high Q-factors (117–254) provide high frequency selectivity. The generated open circuit voltage signals could be sufficient for the direct analog conversion of the signals for cochlear multielectrode implants. By comparing different geometries we have also demonstrated that the initial stress, which is derived from silicon-dioxide (SiO2) and aluminum-nitride (AlN) layers, could be drastically reduced simply by the spiral geometry. The results of vibration measurements have shown a good agreement with the calculated resonant frequencies.