Quarles & Brady LLP
Ultrasonic hearing system and related methods
A hearing system to activate an auditory system using cerebrospinal fluids includes at least one processor configured to receive an audio signal captured using a sound sensor (e.g., a microphone), extract temporal and spectral features from the audio signal, and create modulated ultrasound signals in a range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz with ultrasound carrier frequencies in the range of 50 kHz to 4 MHz, which are ultrasound frequencies that are well-suited to reach the cerebrospinal fluids (e.g., can pass across the skull/bones to reach the cerebrospinal fluids). The system further includes at least one ultrasonic transducer which receives the modulated signal and delivers the modulated signal to the body and activates the auditory system via vibration of cerebrospinal fluids that vibrate cochlear fluids, bypassing the normal conductive pathway that uses middle ear bones and minimizing bone conduction and distortion through the skull.
Regents of the University of Minnesota
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inventional additional inventional inventional
Cory Hubert H. Hongsun Mark
Gloeckner Lim Guo Hamilton