Examination of a mechanical amplifier in the incudostapedial joint gap: FEM simulation and physical model

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

Implantable assembly components that are biocompatible and highly miniaturized are an important objective for hearing aid development. We introduce a mechanical transducer, which could be suitable as part of a prospective fully-implantable hearing aid. The transducer comprises a sensor and an actuator unit in one housing, located in the joint gap between the middle ear ossicles, the incus and stapes. The setup offers the advantage of a minimally invasive and reversible surgical solution. However, feedback between actuator and sensor due to mechanical coupling limits the available stable gain. We show that the system can be stabilized by digital control algorithms. The transducer is tested both in a finite elements method simulation of the middle ear and a physical model of a human middle ear. First, we characterize the sensor and actuator elements separately. Then, the maximum stable gain (MSG) of the whole transducer is experimentally determined in the middle ear model. With digital feedback control (using a least mean squares algorithm) in place, the total signal gain is greater than 30 dB for frequencies of 1 kHz and above. This shows the potential of the transducer as a high frequency hearing aid.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14356-74
Number of pages19
JournalSensors
Volume14
Issue number8
Publication statusPublished - 7 Aug 2014
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 25106020
PubMedCentral PMC4178999
Scopus 84939528958
ORCID /0000-0003-3215-7507/work/142239350
ORCID /0000-0002-3061-0171/work/142241357
ORCID /0000-0002-7295-4167/work/142250958
ORCID /0000-0003-3894-1175/work/148603741

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Acoustic Stimulation/instrumentation, Amplifiers, Electronic, Cochlear Implants, Ear Ossicles/physiology, Finite Element Analysis, Hearing Aids, Humans, Physical Phenomena, Prospective Studies, Prosthesis Design/instrumentation, Transducers