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The BCI Briefing

Patent familyBCI, high confidence

Near infrared light in hearing aid appliances

Filed by Cochlear, Oticon Medical A/S and Oticon Medical As, first in 2018.

Granted · CN, EP, USView in Espacenet
Earliest priority
19 Apr 2018 · European Patent Office
Status
A grant was published in China, European Patent Office, United States, first on 16 Jan 2024
Published in
European Patent Office · United States · China · Australia
Registered as
Cochlear Limited · 奥迪康医疗有限公司
Inventors
Riis, Søren Kamaric · Lunner, Thomas · Wendt, Dorothea · Backus, Bradford · S·k·瑞斯 · T·伦纳 · and 2 more
Family
DOCDB 62116665 · 11 publications

What it concerns

A cochlear implant hearing aid system is disclosed. The cochlear implant hearing aid system comprises an external part. The external part includes a sound pickup unit configured to pick up sound from the environment and a sound processing unit configured to process said sound. The cochlear implant hearing aid system further comprises an implant part. The implant part includes an implant processing unit and a plurality of cochlea stimulation electrodes for stimulation of a cochlea of a user. The cochlear implant hearing aid system further comprises a near-infrared transmitter configured to transmit a near-infrared wave. The cochlear implant hearing aid system further comprises a near-infrared receiver configured to receive said near-infrared wave.

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US2019321655A1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

Protection themes

  • Interface and electrodes

    Electrodes and arrays · Optical interfaces

  • Telemetry

    Wireless telemetry

  • Stimulation

    Stimulation

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61B2560/0219, A61B2560/0242, A61B5/0017, A61B5/0031, A61B5/0075). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Why it matters

Interface and electrodes
Everything downstream works with what the contacts pick up. Their number, size and distance from the neurons set the ceiling on the signal. The problem behind it: more contacts, closer to neurons, that still record after years in tissue that reacts to them.
Telemetry
Thousands of channels produce more data than a low-power radio can carry raw, so what is sent, and how, decides what the system can use. The problem behind it: high data rates at low power through tissue, reliably and securely.
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

The family

One invention, published 11 times in 4 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

Timeline

  1. 19 Apr 2018First filingEarliest priority, at European Patent Office. The family is counted in this year.
  2. 9 Apr 2019ApplicationFiled at European Patent Office.
  3. 16 Apr 2019ApplicationFiled at Australia.
  4. 18 Apr 2019ApplicationFiled at United States.
  5. 19 Apr 2019ApplicationFiled at China.
  6. 19 Apr 2019Owner recordedUnited States, on US2019321655A1: assignment; owner named: OTICON MEDICAL A/S, DENMARK.
  7. 23 Oct 2019First publicationEP3556279A2, European Patent Office.
  8. 20 Nov 2023ApplicationFiled at United States.
  9. 31 May 2024Owner recordedUnited States, on US2019321655A1: assignment; owner named: COCHLEAR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA.
  10. 7 Jun 2024Grant publishedCN110384865B, China.
  11. 31 Jul 2024Owner recordedEuropean Patent Office, on EP3556279A2: party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred); owner named: COCHLEAR LIMITED.
  12. 19 Sep 2024Office recordAustralia, on AU2019202646A1: application lapsed reg. 22.2i(2) - failure to pay acceptance fee.
  13. 6 Nov 2024Grant publishedEP3556279B1, European Patent Office.
  14. 9 Dec 2025Grant publishedUS12491375B2, United States.
  15. 9 Sep 2026Office recordEuropean Patent Office, on EP3556279A2: lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] (AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MC, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM, TR).

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.

Sources

  • 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: US2019321655A1 in Espacenet
  • Counted as a BCI patent family: classified A61B5/293 (invasive electrodes for brain recording); filed by Cochlear Limited, an organisation already in the graph; describes neural hardware or methods without naming the field. How families are found and judged