Bench testing and computer modeling of electromagnetic coupling for a hearing implantable device

Middle ear implantable devices have become one of mayor research areas of biomedical engineering in Oklahoma. This paper describes some methods implemented in our research for testing/modeling the electromagnetic implantable hearing device which consists of an implant magnet (neodymium-iron boron magnet) and a coil. Bench testing was conducted on the device to determine the displacement or velocity of the implant magnet induced by electromagnetic coupling between the coil and magnet. Using a simplified vibration model, the force acting on the implant magnet was calculated. Next, a 2-dimensional (2-D) electromagnetic finite element model was created using the ANSYS software which involves the discretization and analysis of the electromagnetic field. Further work will be in combining the electromagnetic analysis and the middle ear structural mechanical modeling to predict functions of implantable devices for sound transmission.