Electrocochleography testing in hearing prostheses

Presented herein are techniques for performing automated Electrocochleography (ECoG) testing using ambient sound signals received by a hearing prosthesis during normal operation (i.e., outside of a clinical setting). In particular, the hearing prosthesis analyzes ambient sound signals to identify portions of the sound signals that are conducive/suitable to the performance of an ECoG measurement (i.e., an ECoG measurement structure). When an ECoG measurement structure is identified, the hearing prosthesis itself performs an ECoG measurement using one or more implanted electrodes.

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US2017304632A1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

• Stimulation

  Stimulation

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61B5/125, A61B5/6817, A61N1/36036, A61N1/36038, A61N1/36185). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Stimulation

Restoring sensation, sight or movement needs information going in, and a therapy that adapts needs to sense and stimulate at once. The problem behind it: evoking a precise, stable effect without damaging tissue or electrodes, and without blinding the recording.

Why the layer matters to the field, not a judgement of this filing. A patent family shows that protection was sought. It does not show that the technology was built, is used in a product, or works in people. The whole stack

One invention, published 3 times in 2 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

• United StatesUS2017304632A126 Oct 2017US10413728B217 Sep 2019 · grant
• International (PCT)a route to several countries, not a countryWO2017182931A126 Oct 2017

1. 22 Apr 2016First filingEarliest priority, at United States. The family is counted in this year.
2. 17 Apr 2017ApplicationsFiled at United States, International (PCT).
3. 26 Oct 2017First publicationUS2017304632A1, United States.
4. 30 Oct 2017Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017304632A1: assignment; owner named: COCHLEAR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA.
5. 22 May 2019Office recordInternational (PCT), on WO2017182931A1: ep: pct application non-entry in european phase.
6. 17 Sep 2019Grant publishedUS10413728B2, United States.

Dates as the offices published them. Office records are in the offices' own words and are a selection: refusals, lapses and withdrawals, and records that name an owner. Each concerns one member of the family, not the family as a whole, and another member in the same office may stand. Whether a patent is in force today is not assessed.

Organisation

Cochlear · 13 families identified

Technology

ECoG / cortical surface

• Bibliographic data, family members and office records: European Patent Office, Open Patent Services (the DOCDB and INPADOC databases), read 7 Oct 2026.
• The record itself, with its claims and description: US2017304632A1 in Espacenet
• Counted as a BCI patent family: title or abstract names the field; classified A61N1/36 (electrical stimulation therapy); filed by Cochlear Limited, an organisation already in the graph. How families are found and judged