STTR Phase I: Matrix-Addressed, Thin-Film Cochlear Implant Electrode Arrays

STTR 第一阶段：矩阵寻址薄膜人工耳蜗电极阵列

• 批准号: 2136819
• 负责人: Jimin Maeng
• 金额: $ 23.39万
• 依托单位: QUALIA OTO, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-04-15 至 2023-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2136819&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Matrix; Addressed; Thin

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to significantly improve the quality of life for people with hearing impairments. Hearing loss affects more than 37 million people in the US each year, accounting for 15% of the adult population. The cochlear implant (type of hearing aid) market is estimated at $2 B. This project will develop an implantable hearing aid with improved differentiated speech, sounds, music, and acoustic nuances of daily life. The objective is to address current technical limitations with a technologically superior solution enabling improved pitch specificity and speech perception. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to establish the feasibility of a circuit design to significantly increase the capabilities of hearing aids by eliminating the current data constraints of conventional wire bundle cochlear electrodes. A novel electrical circuit design will be fabricated on a thin-film platform using standard manufacturing equipment. These prototypes will undergo electrical bench tests of performance, reliability, and mechanical tests indicative of implanted patient conditions. This product will improve pitch specificity and speech perception by increasing data processed to enable hearing at higher resolution across a wider frequency range. Moreover, the design enables significant manufacturing improvements with automated semiconductor fabrication processes that significantly reduce production costs and improve product consistency over current hand-made cochlear implant electrodes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小型企业技术转移（STTR）I阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是显着改善听力障碍者的生活质量。 听力损失每年影响美国超过3700万人，占成年人口的15％。人工耳蜗植入物（助听器类型）市场估计为2美元。该项目将开发出可植入的助听器，并改善差异化的语音，声音，音乐和日常生活的声音细微差别。 目的是通过技术上出色的解决方案来解决当前的技术局限性，从而可以提高音调特异性和语音感知。这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）I阶段项目旨在通过消除传统的电线捆绑束手工耳电极的当前数据约束来显着提高助听器的能力，从而确定电路设计的可行性。使用标准制造设备将在薄膜平台上制造一种新型的电路设计。这些原型将经过表现植入患者状况的性能，可靠性和机械测试的电气基准测试。 该产品将通过增加处理的数据来提高音调的特异性和语音感知，从而在更广泛的频率范围内以更高的分辨率听力。此外，该设计可以通过自动半导体制造工艺进行重大的制造改进，从而显着降低生产成本并提高产品的一致性，而不是当前手工制作的耳蜗植入物电极。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的智力和更广泛影响的评估来进行评估的支持，这是值得的。