EP-4739380-A1 - SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING AN EVOKED RESPONSE MEASURED THROUGH A COCHLEAR IMPLANT

Abstract

An exemplary system comprises a memory storing instructions and a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a process. The process may comprise directing stimulation to be applied to a recipient of a hearing system, the stimulation configured to elicit an evoked response within the recipient, directing a cochlear implant included in the hearing system to continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of the evoked response, and directing the cochlear implant to stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data.

Inventors

• CHEN, CHEN
• SPAHR, ANTHONY J.
• Kalluri, Sridhar
• HEHRMANN, Phillipp
• KONING, RAPHAEL S.
• ASHIRI, Mehrangiz

Assignees

• Advanced Bionics LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20230908

Claims (20)

1. 1. A system comprising: a memory storing instructions; and a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a process comprising: directing stimulation to be applied to a recipient of a hearing system, the stimulation configured to elicit an evoked response within the recipient; directing a cochlear implant included in the hearing system to continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of the evoked response; and directing the cochlear implant to stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data.
2. 2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation is at least one of acoustic stimulation or electrical stimulation.
3. 3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stimulation is provided at a first ear of the recipient and the at least one electrode is positioned at a second ear of the recipient.
4. 4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one electrode is located on an electrode lead connected to the cochlear implant and at least partially inserted within a cochlea of the recipient.
5. 5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the continuously recording of the data includes measuring a signal between the at least one electrode and an additional electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant.
6. 6. The system of claim 1 , wherein: the at least one electrode is located at a first ear of the recipient; and the continuously recording of the data includes measuring a signal between the at least one electrode and at least one additional electrode electrically coupled to an additional cochlear implant located at a second ear of the recipient.
7. 7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the continuously recording of the data is initiated prior to the stimulation being applied to the recipient.
8. 8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the evoked response includes central auditory potentials of a central auditory pathway of the recipient.
9. 9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises processing the data to determine one or more properties of the evoked response.
10. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing of the data comprises: determining background noise in the data; and extracting the one or more properties of the evoked response from the background noise.
11. 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing of the data comprises: comparing the data to additional data representative of a zero-stimulus condition of the recipient; and determining the evoked response of the recipient based on the comparing of the data to the additional data.
12. 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the process further comprises: determining that the evoked response satisfies a predefined evoked response parameter; and automatically stopping, based on the determining that the evoked response satisfies the predefined evoked response parameter, the continuously recording of the data.
13. 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the process further comprises: determining that the evoked response does not satisfy a predefined evoked response parameter; directing, based on the determining that the evoked response does not satisfy the predefined evoked response parameter, additional stimulation to be applied to the recipient, the additional stimulation configured to elicit an additional evoked response within the recipient; directing the cochlear implant to continuously record, during an additional acquisition time window and using the at least one electrode, additional data representative of the additional evoked response; and directing the cochlear implant to stream, by way of the back telemetry channel, the additional data to the computing device external to the recipient during the additional acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the additional data.
14. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the process further comprises processing the additional data to determine one or more properties of the additional evoked response.
15. 15. A system comprising: a cochlear implant; and at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, wherein the cochlear implant is configured to: continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using the at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of an evoked response that occurs within a recipient of the cochlear implant in response to stimulation applied to the recipient; and stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data.
16. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one electrode is located on an electrode lead connected to the cochlear implant and at least partially inserted within a cochlea of the recipient.
17. 17. The system of claim 15, wherein: the at least one electrode is located at a first ear of the recipient; the cochlear implant is communicatively coupled to a hearing device located at a second ear of the recipient; and the stimulation is provided to the recipient by way of the hearing device.
18. 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the system further comprises a synchronization device that is configured to synchronize the stimulation with the continuously recording of the data.
19. 19. A method comprising: directing, by an evoked response detection system, stimulation to be applied to a recipient of a hearing system, the stimulation configured to elicit an evoked response within the recipient; directing, by the evoked response detection system, a cochlear implant included in the hearing system to continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of the evoked response; and directing, by the evoked response detection system, the cochlear implant to stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data.
20. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising processing, by the evoked response detection system, the data to determine one or more properties of the evoked response.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING AN EVOKED RESPONSE MEASURED THROUGH A COCHLEAR IMPLANT RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/525,281 , filed July 6, 2023, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND INFORMATION [0002] Cochlear implant systems are used to provide, restore, and/or improve the sense of hearing to recipients with severe or profound hearing loss. Conventional cochlear implant systems include various components configured to be implanted within a recipient (e.g., an electronics package, an antenna, and an electrode lead) and various components configured to be located external to the recipient (e.g., a sound processor, a battery, and a microphone). [0003] An electrode lead of a cochlear implant system may include an electrode array comprised of metal electrode contacts (e.g., platinum, titanium, etc.) insulated by the medical grade silicone. The metal electrode contacts are configured to be inserted within a cochlea of a recipient and are typically used to apply electrical stimulation to one or more intracochlear locations. When stimulation is applied to the recipient of a cochlear implant system, the metal electrode contacts on the electrode array may also be used to measure an evoked response that occurs within the recipient based on the stimulation. However, measuring an evoked response through a cochlear implant is difficult due to challenging morphology and because the measured signals have a long acquisition window and a relatively small amplitude with competing artifacts and/or background noise. In addition, the implanted components of a cochlear implant system typically have limited buffer storage space for data associated with such measurements, which makes it difficult to adequately collect information indicative of evoked responses in a clinically viable manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0004] The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings, identical or similar reference numbers designate identical or similar elements. [0005] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary cochlear implant system. [0006] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary configuration of the cochlear implant system of FIG. 1. [0007] FIG. 3 shows another exemplary configuration of the cochlear implant system of FIG. 1. [0008] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary evoked response detection system according to principles described herein. [0009] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary configuration of the evoked response detection system of FIG. 4 according to principles described herein. [0010] FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow diagram that depicts exemplary operations that may be performed according to principles described herein. [0011] FIGS. 7-10 depict additional exemplary configurations of the evoked response detection system of FIG. 4 according to principles described herein. [0012] FIG. 11 shows an exemplary method for identifying an evoked response measured through a cochlear implant according to principles described herein. [0013] FIG. 12 shows an exemplary computing device according to principles described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0014] Systems and methods for identifying an evoked response measured through a cochlear implant are described herein. An exemplary system comprises a memory storing instructions and a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a process. The process may comprise directing stimulation to be applied to a recipient of a hearing system, the stimulation configured to elicit an evoked response within the recipient, directing a cochlear implant included in the hearing system to continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of the evoked response, and directing the cochlear implant to stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data. [0015] An additional exemplary system comprises a cochlear implant and at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant. In such a system, the cochlear implant may be configured to continuously record, during an acquisition time window and using the at least one electrode electrically coupled to the cochlear implant, data representative of an evoked response that occurs within a recipient of the cochlear implant in response to stimulation applied to the recipient, and stream, by way of a back telemetry channel, the data to a computing device external to the recipient during the acquisition time window while the cochlear implant is continuously recording the data. [0016] The systems and methods described herein may provide various