title: A parylene-silicon cochlear electrode array with integrated position sensors.
abstract: A thin-film cochlear electrode array has been developed for a cochlear prosthesis to achieve improved sound perception and position accuracy. The array is fabricated using a bulk-silicon micromachining process that allows parylene deposition and patterning at wafer level, followed by a wet silicon release etch that is compatible with the use of boron etch-stops. The process is capable of realizing arrays with substrates stressed to hug the modiolar wall in the rest state and whose stiffness can be adjusted over a wide range. Built-in tip and curvature sensors respond to tip contact and bending-induced shank stress, respectively during in-vitro and in-vivo implants. The process is also compatible with the integration of parylene ribbon cables for lead transfer to an implanted electronics package.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. jianbaiw@umich.edu
authors.forename: Jianbai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mayurachat N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Gulari
authors.forename: Kensall D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Wise
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004582:Electronics, Medical / Q000295:instrumentation; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D008839:Microelectrodes; D011108:Polymers; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012825:Silicon; D014992:Xylenes
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D014992:Xylenes; C011055:parylene; D012825:Silicon