A hydromechanical biomimetic cochlea: Experiments and models

Abstract

The construction, measurement, and modeling of an artificial cochlea (ACochlea) are presented in this paper. An artificial basilar membrane (ABM) was made by depositing discrete Cu beams on a piezomembrane substrate. Rather than two fluid channels, as in the mammalian cochlea, a single fluid channel was implemented on one side of the ABM, facilitating the use of a laser to detect the ABM vibration on the other side. Measurements were performed on both the ABM and the ACochlea. The measurement results on the ABM show that the longitudinal coupling on the ABM is very strong. Reduced longitudinal coupling was achieved by cutting the membrane between adjacent beams using a laser. The measured results from the ACochlea with a laser-cut ABM demonstrate cochlear-like features, including traveling waves, sharp high-frequency rolloffs, and place-specific frequency selectivity. Companion computational models of the mechanical devices were formulated and implemented using a circuit simulator. Experimental data were compared with simulation results. The simulation results from the computational models of the ABM and the ACochlea are similar to their experimental counterparts.

Experimental and Analytical Study Approach of Artificial Basilar Membrane Prototype (ABMP)

“…Their paper states that this membrane had traveling waves similar to those of the biological basilar membrane. Chen, et al [7] made a membrane by depositing discrete Cu beams on a piezo membrane. They also simulated a membrane using a computational model of the mechanical device.…”

Model-based design of artificial zero power cochlear implant

“…The micro-membrane represents a much more promising shape of resonator for this purpose. The trapezoidal shapes of membranes are developed by other scientific groups involved in artificial cochlear implants development [13][14][15]. The trapezoidal shape of the membrane is similar to a basilar membrane which is placed inside the inner ear.…”

Bio-Inspired Design of a Multi-scale Pass Band Frequency Sensor Using Local Resonance Phenomena

“…Referencing Von Bekesy's finding, in last couple of decades several attempts were made to develop mathematical model for the human cochlea [14][15][16][17]. Although most of the cochlear research were limited to mathematical modeling, only recently a very few experimental efforts were reported to exactly replicate the human cochlea [18][19][20][21][22][23] with the similar design configurations. Such models could be good argument for cochlear implantation study, however, may not be adequate for industrial applications where specific frequency sensing are essential from external vibration.…”