Malleable implantable medical device

Abstract

A malleable implantable medical device for implanting in a recipient comprising a flexible region of the medical device, one or more structures proximate to the flexible region, wherein the one or more structures is configured to provide a bending force to the flexible region, and one or more hermetically sealed medical components coupled to the flexible region, wherein the one or more medical components is configured to provide a therapeutic effect on the recipient.

1 . A malleable implantable medical device for implanting in a recipient comprising:
 a flexible region of the medical device;   one or more structures proximate to said flexible region, wherein said one or more structures is configured to provide a bending force to said flexible region; and   one or more hermetically sealed medical components coupled to said flexible region, wherein said one or more medical components is configured to provide a therapeutic effect on the recipient.   
     
     
         2 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more structures comprises:
 one or more chambers disposed within said flexible region; and   one or more curable materials disposed within each of said one or more chambers, wherein said one or more curable materials is configured to be cured while said flexible region is bent such that said cured materials adopts said bent angle thereby providing a bending force to said flexible region after being cured.   
     
     
         3 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 2 , further comprising at least one dividing membrane configured to be deformed by manual pressure thereby permitting intermixing of said two or more curable materials prior to becoming cured. 
     
     
         4 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 2 , wherein said two or more curable materials are configured to become cured by a chemical reaction between said two or more curable materials. 
     
     
         5 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 2 , wherein said two or more curable materials are configured to become cured upon subjection to external energy. 
     
     
         6 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 5 , wherein said external energy comprises heat. 
     
     
         7 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 5 , wherein said external energy comprises UV light. 
     
     
         8 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 2 , wherein said one or more chambers further comprise:
 a first and a second chamber disposed substantially in concentric fashion with respect to one another.   
     
     
         9 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 2 , wherein said one or more chambers further comprise:
 a first and a second chamber configured to contain unequal volumes of said curable materials.   
     
     
         10 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a punch tool contained within one of said one or more chambers, said punch tool comprising a pushing surface and a tip, wherein said tip is positioned adjacent to said dividing membrane and configured to provide a punch into a second of said one or more chambers through said dividing membrane upon receiving an external pressure.   
     
     
         11 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 10 , wherein said tip is configured with a sharp point configured to provide said punch into said second chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 2 , wherein said one or more curable materials disposed within each of said one or more chambers is configured to be provided by an injection device prior to curing and implanting said medical device in said recipient. 
     
     
         13 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more structures comprises:
 one or more bendable spine, wherein said bendable spine is configured to retain a bend upon being bent to a desired shape.   
     
     
         14 . The malleable implantable medical device of  claim 3 , wherein said curable materials is selected and arranged to have a softness on a durometer scale (Shore A) of approximately 30-60 upon being cured. 
     
     
         15 . A method for using a malleable implantable medical device for implanting in a recipient comprising:
 providing one or more structures proximately to a flexible region of the medical device, wherein the one or more structures is configured to provide a bending force to the flexible region; and   fixing said one or more structures proximate to the flexible region.   
     
     
         16 . The method for using a malleable implantable medical device of  claim 15 , wherein said providing one or more structures comprises providing one or more curable materials and further wherein said fixing said one or more structures further comprises subjecting said provided one or more curable materials to external energy. 
     
     
         17 . The method for using a malleable implantable medical device of  claim 16 , wherein said providing one or more structures further comprises:
 intermixing said provided one or more curable materials prior to said subjecting said provided one or more materials to external energy.   
     
     
         18 . The method for using a malleable implantable medical device of  claim 16 , wherein said external energy comprises heat. 
     
     
         19 . The method for using a malleable implantable medical device of  claim 16 , wherein said external energy comprises UV light. 
     
     
         20 . A malleable implantable medical device for implanting in a recipient comprising:
 means for providing one or more structures proximately to a flexible region of the medical device, wherein the one or more structures is configured to provide a bending force to the flexible region; and   means for fixing said one or more structures proximate to the flexible region.