Advanced electrode array insertion with conditioning

Abstract

A method, including obtaining information indicative of a phenomenon sensed at a read electrode of a cochlear implant electrode array relative to a reference and/or at a read electrode remote from the electrode array relative to a reference, where one of the electrodes of the cochlear implant electrode array was energized executing a first analysis of the information to identify one or more first meanings from among a first group of meanings of the sensed phenomenon, conditioning the obtained information based on the identified one or more first meanings, and executing a second analysis of the conditioned information to identify one or more second meanings from among a second group of meanings of the sensed phenomenon.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 commencing insertion of at least a portion of a medical device including a plurality of electrodes into a body of a person;   establishing a source and sink of electrical current in the body of the person, wherein the source is one of an energized stimulation electrode of the plurality of electrodes that are located inside the body of the person or an energized electrode remote from the plurality of electrodes;   reading at least one read electrode, relative to at least one reference, that received an electrical signal from the energized stimulation electrode; and   at least one of determining or obtaining a determination, based on the reading, that a physical characteristic associated with the at least the portion of the medical device that is strictly local to the at least the portion of the medical device existed and/or exists.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physical characteristic is a temporally static characteristic related to the physical condition of the at least the portion of the medical device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physical characteristic is a temporally dynamic characteristic related to the local position of the at least the portion of the medical device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 after the determining action, adjusting a location of the at least the portion of the medical device in the body and executing a second reading of a read electrode, relative to a reference, or of another read electrode of the at least the portion of the medical device, relative to a reference; and   determining, based on the second reading, that the physical characteristic associated with the at least the portion of the medical device has changed.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining information relating to an electrical phenomenon continuity pattern of the at least the portion of the medical device, wherein   the action of determining is based on a determination that the reading is an abnormal reading relative to the obtained electrical phenomenon continuity pattern.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 reading other read electrodes relative to reference(s) that received the electrical signal from the energized stimulation electrode; and   identifying a continuity electrical phenomenon associated with the electrodes that were read, wherein   the action of determining is based on a determination that the reading is an abnormal reading relative to the identified continuity electrical phenomenon.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physical characteristic is a temporally static characteristic related to the physical condition of the at least the portion of the medical device, and wherein the method further comprising:
 second energizing a stimulation electrode of the at least the portion of the medical device that is located inside a cavity of the body or an electrode remote from the plurality of electrodes;   second reading a read electrode relative to a reference that received an electrical signal from the energized stimulation electrode, wherein the read electrode is part of the at least the portion of the medical device if the energized stimulation electrode is an electrode remote from the at least the portion of the medical device; and   determining, based on the second reading, that the physical characteristic associated with the at least the portion of the medical device that is strictly local to the at least the portion of the medical device no longer exists.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physical characteristic is a temporally dynamic characteristic related to the physical condition of the at least the portion of the medical device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 after the determining action, adjusting a location of the at least the portion of the medical device in the body and executing a second reading of the read electrode/s relative to a reference or of another read electrode of the at least the portion of the medical device, relative to a reference; and   determining, based on the second reading, that the physical characteristic associated with the at least the portion of the medical device no longer exists.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the medical device is a sensory prosthesis, and the action of commencing insertion is commencing insertion of the plurality of electrodes into a cavity inside the body of the person. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the cavity is a cochlea of the body. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the medical device is a cochlear electrode array, and the action of commencing insertion is commencing insertion of the cochlear electrode array into a cochlea of the body of the person. 
     
     
         13 . A method, comprising:
 (i) obtaining information indicative of a phenomenon sensed at, at least one read electrode relative to at least one reference of an electrode assembly of an implantable medical device; and   (ii) using that information to determine whether or not a deleterious electrode assembly position exists inside the body of a recipient, wherein   the actions used to make the determination correspond to a statistical based accuracy rating of at least 90 out of 100 vis-à-vis determinations that a deleterious electrode assembly position exists.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 action “ii” results in a determination that a deleterious position exists; and   the likelihood that the determination is wrong is less than 1 out of 100.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is a cochlear implant electrode array;   action “ii” results in a determination that an array fold over exists; and   the likelihood that the determination is wrong is less than 1 out of 100.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 action “ii” includes first conditioning the obtained information and then analyzing the conditioned information to make the determination.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 after action “i,” determining whether or not to execute a conditioning action on the obtained information and/or what type of conditioning action is to be executed on the obtained information; and   normalizing the information before or after executing the conditioning action, if executed, and analyzing the normalized information to make the determination.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 after action “i,” executing a first type of conditioning on the information;   after executing the first type of conditioning, executing action “ii” based on the conditioned information conditioned according to the execution of the first type;   executing a second type of conditioning different from the first type of conditioning;   analyzing the conditioned information conditioned according to the execution of the second type to determine whether or not a second type of deleterious electrode assembly position exists inside the body different from that determined in action “ii.”   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is an electrode array; and   the result of the action of determining what type of conditioning action is determination to execute a type of conditioning action that is conducive to determining whether or not array fold over has occurred.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is a cochlear implant electrode array; and   action “ii” includes determining whether or not a deleterious cochlear electrode array position exists inside a cochlea of the body of the recipient.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is part of a sensory prosthesis; and   action “ii” includes determining whether or not a deleterious cochlear electrode array position exists inside a cochlea of the body of the recipient.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is part of a sensory prosthesis; and   action “ii” includes determining whether or not a deleterious electrode assembly position exists inside a cavity of the body of the recipient.   
     
     
         23 . A system, comprising:
 a control unit configured to receive telemetry from an implantable medical device system that includes an electrode assembly and determine a feature related to a global position of the electrode assembly relative to an interior of a portion of a human body of a recipient of the medical device, wherein   the telemetry includes data based on electrical phenomenon associated with the electrode assembly,   the control unit is further configured to automatically analyze the data to determine whether or not portions of the data are acceptable for use in determining the feature, and   the control unit is configured to automatically modify the data to at least one of eliminate or replace the portions of the data that are deemed not acceptable for use in determining the feature, and use the modified data to determine the feature related to the global position of the electrode assembly.   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the control unit is configured to provide output that enables a virtual indication of the feature to a healthcare professional proximate the electrode assembly while the healthcare professional has direct access to the implantable system.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is an electrode array;   the feature is an array fold over of the electrode array; and   the control unit is configured to provide an indication of the occurrence of the fold over of the electrode array while the healthcare professional has direct access to the implantable system.   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is an electrode array;   the feature is an array fold over of the electrode array; and   the control unit is configured to provide an indication of the location of the fold over of the electrode array while the healthcare professional has direct access to the implantable system.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is a cochlear implant electrode array;   the portion of the human body of the recipient of the medical device is a cochlea of the recipient; and   the system is configured to provide the indication at a rate that is statistically more reliable than a single X-ray of the cochlear of the recipient with the electrode array therein.   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is a cochlear implant electrode array;   the portion of the human body of the recipient of the medical device is a cochlea of the recipient; and   the control unit is further configured to automatically analyze the data to determine whether or not portions of the data are indicative of an open circuit, a short circuit, a bubble proximate the electrode array, an electrode not in the cochlea, an electrode conditioning phenomenon or a cochlea narrowing phenomenon, and deem the data unacceptable for use if the data is indicative thereof.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 control unit is configured to establish at least a virtual matrix of electrical readings based on the electrical phenomenon, wherein the matrix has rows corresponding to target electrodes and columns corresponding to measurement electrodes, or visa-versa;   the control unit is configured to adjust and/or provide new components of the matrix for data that is determined to be unacceptable for use in determining the feature; and   the control unit is configured to determine the feature by analyzing the matrix.   
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is a cochlear implant electrode array;   the portion of the human body of the recipient of the medical device is a cochlea of the recipient; and   
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the implantable medical device system is a sensory prosthesis system.   
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein:
 the electrode assembly is an electrode array;   the portion of the human body of the recipient of the medical device is a cavity in the human body.