{
  "patent_number": "US 4063048",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Early Cochlear Implants Used Digital Signals to Restore Hearing",
  "original_title": "Implantable electronic hearing aid",
  "summary": "A 1977 patent describing an electronic device that converts sound into digital pulses to stimulate the auditory nerve, bypassing a damaged inner ear.",
  "what_it_does": "The device captures external sound using a microphone and converts it into an analog electrical signal. This signal is then split into different frequency bands using a series of filters, mimicking how a healthy cochlea processes sound. Each band is converted into a digital pulse signal, which is sent through implanted electrodes directly to the auditory nerve. This allows the brain to receive electrical impulses that represent specific sound frequencies, enabling individuals with non-functioning inner ears to perceive sound.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover non-implantable hearing aids that rely on acoustic amplification.",
    "Does not cover signal processing methods that do not use frequency-specific filter networks.",
    "Does not cover wireless or transcutaneous induction-based signal transmission methods.",
    "Does not cover software-based speech recognition or AI-driven sound enhancement algorithms."
  ],
  "filed": "1977-03-16",
  "granted": "1977-12-13",
  "expires": "1997-03-16",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Individual",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/individual",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Adam M. Kissiah, Jr.",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/adam-m-kissiah-jr"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 55,
  "tags": [
    "biotech",
    "medical_devices",
    "semiconductors"
  ],
  "abstract": "An electronic hearing aid device for enabling persons having loss of hearing due to a nonfunctioning inner ear (Cochlea), but have a responsive auditory (acoustic, or eighth cranial) nerve, to hear by way of an electronic device including a microphone for receiving audio signals connected to an amplifier for converting the audio signal into an analog voltage signal. The analog voltage signal is filtered by a series of filter networks which separate the analog voltage signal into a plurality of frequency component signals each having a predetermined frequency range within the audio spectrum. The component analog voltage signals are then converted into digital pulse signals having the same frequency as the component voltage signal which are fed to the auditory nerve by way of implanted platinium (or other) wires wherein the digital pulse signals more accurately simulate the natural sound signals transmitted to the brain for interpretation.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4063048/cochlear-implant-hearing",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4063048/cochlear-implant-hearing/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US4063048",
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}