Nucleus ESPrit 3G Cochlear Implant Speech Processor

The Nucleus ESPrit 3G cochlear implant speech processor was made by Cochlear Ltd. of Australia. It was approved by the FDA for use in the USA in March, 2002.

The external parts consisted of the circular transmitting coil (bottom) and the behind-the-ear (BTE) speech processor (top).

The large part (right) is implanted in a hollowed out part of the mastoid bone just under the skin behind the outer ear.

The magnet in the center of the circle mated with the magnet in the center of the headpiece coil (see below) to hold the external coil tightly to the head so signal transfer could take place.

The BTE speech processor and coil weighed 0.6 oz. (16 g) with batteries.

The BTE speech processor measured 2 1/16" x ¾" x 9/16" (5.2 x 1.9 x 1.4 cm).

The cable joining the coil to the speech processor was about 2⅝" (6.7 cm).
 

The magnet cover (center) pulled off to change the magnet(s) inside. It could be replaced by a cover of a different color.

The transmitting coils were specific to the cochlear implant you had. Thus, there were different coils for the Nucleus 22 implant and the Nucleus 24 implant.

If you had a Nucleus 22 cochlear implant, you needed to use a transmitting coil marked N22. It had a green-tipped plug.

Shown here is the transmitting coil for the Nucleus 24 implant. It is marked "E3G" (right of center). As you'll see below later, the plug is yellow.

There were 5 lengths for the transmitting coil cable—2¾", 3½", 4½", 8¼" and 11⅜" (6, 8, 10, 20 and 28 cm).

The cables did not unplug from the transmitting coil so you needed to get a new coil-cable assembly if you needed a different length of cable.
 

Here is the illustrated list of Accessories for the Nucleus ESPrit 3G cochlear implant speech processor.

Here's the Warnings and Precautions instructions.

Here's the Patient Identification Card.

Here's information on Static Electricity and Cochlear Implants.

This microphone was directional so you got the best reception if you faced the direction of the sounds you wanted to hear.

Below is the label showing the model (ESPrit 3G)

The Whisper setting, as you might expect, makes soft sounds audible.

The battery compartment cover just pulled off. There were no hidden latches to release.

Note: the plug and socket must match colors. Yellow indicates that this speech processor and transmitting coil are specifically designed for the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant.
 

This was an unusual way of attaching ear hooks. Typically they were screwed into a post at the top, not help in place by a wire.

Note: the ear hook could be gently bent to fit your ear.

This speech processor used high-power No. 675 zinc-air batteries such as the PowerOne No. p675 zinc-air battery.

In cold weather or in humid conditions, you could use S76 silver oxide batteries.

In order to attach anything to the speech processor, you first had to plug the accessories adapter (left) into the 6-pin socket (jack) on the bottom of the speech processor.

The accessories adapter had to jacks on it. A 3-pin jack on the left end (not visible) for plugging in audio accessories, and a 4-pin jack on the side for plugging in monitoring earphones.

Other cables that were designed to plug into the accessories adapter included an external microphone, an external t-coil and a special FM cable.

This female jack accepted any

Shown here is the personal audio cable shown in its original package.

This stereo audio cable was 23" (58.4 cm) long.

Note that this cable had an isolation transformer (square box at the top) to protect the delicate electronics of the speech processor from any transient spikes in the power. It also had a volume control (center).

The isolation transformer was 19" (48.2 cm) from the plug that you plugged into the audio device. The volume control was 31" (78.7 cm) from your end.

This TV/Hi-Fi audio cable was 18 feet (5.48 m) long.

Note: the speech processor itself only came in 4 colors—beige, brown, black and silver. The transmitting coil also only came in 4 colors—beige, brown, black and grey.

The magnet covers just pulled off and the new one slid onto the two pins that held them in place.

If you had trouble making the speech processor stay on your ear, you could use this ear hook instead of the "normal" one. This ear hook terminated with a plastic piece (instead of a metal ball) that was the correct size so the tubing of a custom-fitted ear mold would snuggly fit over it.

It also doubled as a protector to keep the speech processor from falling off if you were doing action activities.

Close-up view of the top of the signal checker for the Nucleus ESPrit 3G cochlear implant speech processor. You held the signal checker against the transmitting coil. The LED in the center of the signal checker glowed with varying intensity in response to incoming sounds. 

This Nucleus ESPrit 3G cochlear implant speech processor and accessories was donated to the Museum on behalf of  Charles Kelling, Blue Anchor, NJ.

The round item on the left center is the container of desiccant used to suck any moisture out of the speech processor while it was safely stored for the night.

This Nucleus ESPrit 3G cochlear implant speech processor and accessories was donated to the Museum on behalf of  Charles Kelling, Blue Anchor, NJ.