A piezoelectric stack actuator for incus driving type middle ear implant was proposed and designed. To aid the design process, a coupling mechanics model of the human middle ear and the piezoelectric stack actuator was constructed. This model was build based on a complete set of computerized tomography section images of a healthy volunteer’s left ear by reverse engineering technology. The result shows that the stapes footplate displacement stimulated by the designed piezoelectric stack actuator’s excitation at 10.5 V rms was equivalent to that from acoustic stimulation at 90 dB SPL, which is adequate stimulation to the ossicular chain. The corresponding power consumption is 0.03 mW per volt of excitation at 1 kHz, which is low enough for the actuator to be used in a middle ear implant.
LIU Hou-guang;TA Na;RAO Zhu-shi.
Design of a new type of piezoelectric actuator for middle ear implant[J]. Journal of Vibration and Shock, 2011, 30(7): 112-115,