Eye-mounted hearing aid
View Patent ↗Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method of stimulating a cornea. A non-limiting example of the method includes capturing a sound with a microphone. A non-limiting example of the method also includes transducing the sound to an electric signal by a microprocessor. A non-limiting example of the method also includes stimulating a piezo-electric element adjacent to a receptor of the cornea, wherein the piezo-electric element is positioned on an eye lens with an electric signal. A non-limiting example of the method also includes mechanically stimulating a receptor of the cornea with the stimulated piezo-electric element.
1. A system for stimulating the cornea, the system comprising:
an eye lens comprising a plurality of piezo elements, each of the plurality of piezo elements comprising a piezoelectric structure that vibrates at a different resonant frequency; and
an external device wirelessly coupled to the eye lens, the external device comprising a microphone and a microcontroller, the microphone configured to receive an auditory signal;
wherein the microcontroller is configured to:
identify a frequency in the auditory signal;
determine a resonant frequency associated with the frequency; and
selectively activate one of the plurality of piezo elements based on the resonant frequency; and
wherein each of the plurality of piezo elements are configured to mechanically simulate a unique region of the cornea upon activation.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the external device further comprises a power supply in electrical communication with the plurality of piezo elements.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the external device further comprises a near field communication (NFC) component.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the NFC component is configured with an antenna to wirelessly transfer energy to the eye lens.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the eye lens further comprises a second NFC component communicatively coupled to the NFC component on the external device.
6. The system according to claim 5 , wherein the NFC component comprises an NFC reader and the second NFC component comprises an NFC tag.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the external device comprises eye glasses.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the external device comprises a nose clip.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the external device comprises a smartphone.
10. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a memory in communication with the microcontroller.
11. A method for stimulating the cornea, the method comprising:
providing an eye lens comprising a plurality of piezo elements, each of the plurality of piezo elements comprising a piezoelectric structure that vibrates at a different resonant frequency;
providing an external device wirelessly coupled to the eye lens, the external device comprising a microphone and a microcontroller, the microphone configured to receive an auditory signal;
identifying, by the microcontroller, a frequency in the auditory signal;
determining, by the microcontroller, a resonant frequency associated with the frequency; and
selectively activating, by the microcontroller, one of the plurality of piezo elements based on the resonant frequency;
wherein each of the plurality of piezo elements are configured to mechanically simulate a unique region of the cornea upon activation.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the external device further comprises a power supply in electrical communication with the plurality of piezo elements.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the external device further comprises a near field communication (NFC) component.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the NFC component is configured with an antenna to wirelessly transfer energy to the eye lens.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the eye lens further comprises a second NFC component communicatively coupled to the NFC component on the external device.
16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the NFC component comprises an NFC reader and the second NFC component comprises an NFC tag.
17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the external device comprises eye glasses.
18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the external device comprises a nose clip.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the external device comprises a smartphone.
20. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising a memory in communication with the microcontroller.