Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant Speech Processor
The Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor was made by
Cochlear Ltd. of Australia. It was introduced in 1998.
The external parts consisted of the circular headpiece coil (left),
the behind-the-ear (BTE) HS8A microphone (center) and the body-worn
speech processor (right).
Read the
Quick Reference Guide for the Nucleus SPrint cochlear implant speech processor.
Read the complete
Nucleus SPrint User Manual.
Here is the
Product Map showing all the parts and accessories of the Nucleus
SPrint cochlear implant.
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View of a picture of the internal implant. The curved electrodes (left)
are threaded into the cochlea. The wire to the right of the electrodes
is the ground wire that is implanted outside the cochlea. 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.
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View of the front of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech
processor with the HN (side-opening) double-battery case attached. The speech
processor, together with the transmitting coil and BTE mic weighed 4.4
oz. (124 g) without batteries.
The speech processor measured 4 1/16" x 2⅝" x 15/16" (10.3 x
6.7 x 2.4 cm) |
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Bottom view of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor
showing the serial number EC 437452 (lower center), the two pins into
which the battery pack plugged (left) and the 19 "pins" to which the
programmer connected (center).
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View of the front of a second Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor with the PN (front-opening) double-battery case
attached.
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Bottom view of the second Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor
showing the serial number EC 438818 (lower center), the two pins into
which the battery pack plugged (left) and the 19 "pins" to which the
programmer connected (center). |
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Close-up view of the front of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech
processor showing the various buttons for operating this speech
processor. The left button is the Program Selection button. The two
center buttons are the Up (+) and Down (-) buttons for controlling the
microphone sensitivity and the volume. On the right are the tiny Options
button and below it the Select Button, the Autosensitivity Button and at
the bottom, the square On/Off Button. To the left of it is the LCD
display.
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Close-up view of the top of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech
processor showing the indicator light (left of center). This light glows
red when the batteries are good and the microphone is is picking up
sounds. If the batteries are low it blinks slowly. If it won't come on
the batteries are dead. On the right is the black cover that protects
the two external jacks.
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Close-up view of the top left corner of of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the external jack cover
partially lifted up. The nubbin fits into the audio input jack.
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Close-up view of the top of the of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the jack cover pulled back to
reveal the small earphone jack (for letting the audiologist listen to
the microphone to be sure it is working properly) (left) and the
external audio input jack (center). On the right is the indicator light.
The audio input jack let you plug into and listen to various A/C
and battery-operated audio devices. In addition you could plug in an
external microphone in order to hear someone better in noisy situations. |
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Left side view of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor
showing the black release slider (left) to unlock the battery
compartment door so you could replace the batteries. The second black
slider (center) was to open the cover to access the headset cord
compartment. |
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Close-up view of the top left corner of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor showing how the cover for the headset
cord compartment swings down when you slide back the black slider (top
left) |
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Close-up view of the top left corner of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor with the headset compartment door
fully opened showing the headset cord plugged into the headset cord
jack. |
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Close-up view of the top left corner of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the headset cord unplugged
from the headset cord jack. You normally only opened this compartment to
replace the headset cord if one of the wires broke. |
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Rear view of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor. The battery compartment comprised the
bottom half (below the label) of the processing unit.
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Close-up view of the center rear of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor showing the manufacturer's label giving the model
(SPrint), and the manufacturer's name and address.
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Rear view of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing how the battery pack
slides off once the black release slider on the right edge is released.
Note the two slots on each side of the label. These are for holding in
place the belt clip if you wanted to use it. |
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Close-up view of the back of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech
processor showing how the belt clip slides into the slots on the back of
the processor. The belt clip could only be put on or removed when the
battery pack was removed. The top edge of the battery pack kept the belt
clip in place.
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Close-up rear view of the 2-battery HN battery pack case of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the proper polarity of
the rechargeable batteries. Note: there were three different battery
packs—the 2-battery side-loading HN battery pack (shown here), the
single-battery side-loading FN battery pack, and the 2-battery
front-loading PN battery pack (shown later). |
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Top view of the the 2-battery side-loading HN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor. Note the two sockets (left)
for the two pins on the speech processor and the faint "HN" (bottom
center). |
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Close-up view of the right side of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor showing the black slider and latch that holds the
battery pack in place. The slider needs to be pushed "down" (to the
right in this picture) in order to release the latch so you can replace
the battery pack.
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Close-up view of the left side of the the 2-battery HN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor. It also has a black slider
(top center) to slide so you can open the battery compartment door shown
here partially swung up. |
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View of the left side of the 2-battery HN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor with the battery door fully
open showing the compartments for the 2 nickel cadmium (Ni-Cad) AA
batteries needed.
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Top view of the the 1-battery side-loading FN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor. Note the two sockets (left)
for the two pins on the speech processor and the faint "FN" (bottom
center). |
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Rear view of the 1-battery FN battery pack of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the correct polarity for the
battery. |
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Close-up view of the left end of the 1-battery FN battery pack of the
Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the black
slider (right end) and the latch (right bottom). Sliding the slider
"down" (to the left in this picture) released the latch to open the
battery compartment door. |
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Close-up view of the 1-battery FN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the battery compartment
door unlatched and partially opened.
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Close-up view of the 1-battery FN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the battery compartment
door opened revealing the compartment for the single nickel cadmium AA
battery. |
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Top view of the the later 2-battery front-loading PN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor. Note the two sockets (left)
for the two pins on the speech processor and the faint "PN" (bottom
center). Here are the
SPrint Battery Pack Instructions for the PN battery pack.
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View of the later version 2-battery PN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing how the front of the
battery pack slides down.
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View of the later version 2-battery PN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor showing the lid of the battery
pack fully slid off revealing the battery compartment. |
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Close-up view of the battery compartment of the later version 2-battery
PN battery pack of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant speech processor. Note the + signs indicating
the correct position for the positive terminals of the batteries (left
for the upper battery and right for the lower battery). |
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Apart from the speech processor, the other parts of the external Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant included the transmitting coil left and the
behind-the-ear (BTE) HS8-A microphone earpiece (right) and the cables
that connected them all together. |
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Close-up view of the left side of the BTE HS8-A microphone earpiece of
the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant showing the ear hook (left) to hold
the unit on your ear. The earpiece measured 1½" x 11/16"
x 5/16" (3.9 x 1.7 x 0.8 cm).
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Close-up view of the top front of the HS8-A earpiece with the ear hook
removed (it unscrews) revealing the microphone port hidden in the back.
The sound had to travel around the ear hook to reach the microphone
port. |
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Close-up side view of the BTE HS8-A earpiece of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant showing how the cover swung down from the top. There
are two little slots (upper center)on each side to get your fingernails
in to pry the top of the cover up. |
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Close-up side view of the BTE HS8-A earpiece of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant with the cover removed revealing the two plugs under
it.
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Close-up side view of the side of the BTE HS8-A earpiece of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant with the cover removed showing the two plugs and below
the upper plug, the model number of this earpiece, namely "HS8-A". |
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Close-up view of the back of the BTE HS8-A earpiece of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant with the cables unplugged showing the black and
orange sockets. Below the orange socket are the letters "FN" and "7B". |
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Close-up view of the back of the BTE HS8-A earpiece of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant showing the 4-pin orange plug and socket. The
cord on the orange plug went to the speech processor. It conducted the
sound signals from the microphone to the speech processor and conducted
the processed sound from the speech processor back to the earpiece. |
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Close-up view of the back of the BTE HS8-A earpiece of the Nucleus
SPrint Cochlear Implant showing the 4-pin black plug and socket. The
cord on the black plug went to the transmitting coil. It conducted the
processed speech from the earpiece to the transmitting coil. |
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Close-up view of the top of the transmitting coil of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant. A magnet (center) screwed into the center of the
headpiece coil and held the transmitting coil against another magnet in
the center of the implanted unit.
The magnets came in different
strengths. Stronger magnets were needed if the person's skin or hair
were particularly thick, or else the headpiece coil would fall off.
If you look closely, you'll notice a number 2 in the bottom of the
slot in the magnet, indicating this was the No. 2 strength magnet.
The coil measured 1⅜" (3.5 cm) in diameter. |
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Close-up view of the top of the transmitting coil of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant with the magnet totally unscrewed.
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Close-up view of the underside of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
transmitting coil showing the part that went
against the skin/hair. Notice that the magnet is not screwed all the way
in. This was one way to adjust the holding power of the magnet. You
wanted the magnet to just hold the transmitting coil to you head without
putting undue pressure on your skin or the constant pressure could cause
skin problems. Adjusted this way, the magnet would exert less holding
power.
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Close-up view of the underside of the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
transmitting coil showing the part that went
against the skin/hair. Notice that the magnet is screwed all the way in.
Adjusted this way, the magnet would exert maximum holding power.
The transmitting coil lined up with a similar coil in the implanted
part and transferred the speech signals via magnetic induction. |
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Close-up view of the top of the transmitting coil of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant showing how the transmitting coil unplugged from the
transmitting cable. This was typically only done when the transmitting
cable broke and needed to be replaced. |
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Close-up view of the top of the transmitting coil of the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant. The transmitting coils came in three colors—beige
(above), brown (shown here) and black (not shown). |
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This Dri-Aid pak came with the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech
processor. This Dri-Aid was produced by Hal-Hen. Here are
Hal-Hen's
Dri-Aid Instructions.
Cochlear also produced their own
Dri-Aid
Instructions.
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Close-up view of the desiccant module of the Dri-Aid pak that came with the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant speech
processor. The desiccant is contained in a round flat "can" (outlined in the
picture). It was sealed in this waterproof packaging so it couldn't
absorb any moisture before it was to be used. The purpose of the Dri-Aid
was to suck all the moisture out of the speech processor and earpiece so
moisture wouldn't build up inside and cause corrosion and short out the
electronics. |
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View of the top of the Dri-Aid bag. To seal it for use, after inserting the "can" all the way to
the bottom and putting the speech processor on top of it, you folded the Dri-Aid along the dotted lines then tightly rolled the top down to the
snap fastener. |
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View of the Dri-Aid bagr with the top rolled down and snapped together to keep
all air (moisture) out.
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View of the Dri-Aid in use. The desiccant "can" is at the bottom and on
top of it is the Nucleus ESprint speech processor. The top is rolled down and sealed to
keep any moisture out.
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The signal checker coil for the Nucleus SPrint speech processor so you
could check if your unit was putting out a good signal or not. You
held it up to the transmitting coil and if there was a good signal, the
red light would go on.
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View of the clip-on external microphone for the Nucleus SPrint speech
processor. This external microphone plugged into the external audio
input jack on the top of the speech processor so you could listen to a
person without picking up all the background noise in the room. This
microphone cable measured 5' (152.4 cm) long.
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Close-up view of the stereo TV cable for the Nucleus SPrint speech
processor. This cable plugged into the external jack on the top of the
speech processor and the other end plugged into an audio output jack on
a TV or other A/C powered audio device (radio, stereo, etc.). The
square "box" near the TV end of the cable contains an isolating
transformer to protect the speech processor. Near the speech processor
end is a volume control. This cable measured 18' (5.480 m) long.
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Close-up view of the Personal Audio (stereo) Cable for hooking the
Nucleus SPrint speech processor to any audio device such as an MP3
player, computer, etc. It plugged into the external jack on the top of
the speech processor.
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A spare new Personal Audio Cable for the Nucleus SPrint speech processor—still
in its original packaging. This cable measured 24" (60.9 cm) long.
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A spare new Headset Cable for the Nucleus SPrint speech processor—still
in its original packaging. This cable connected the speech processor to
the BTE earpiece microphone. This cable measured 39" (99.0 cm) long.
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A spare new Transmitting Cable for the Nucleus SPrint speech processor—still
in its original packaging. This cable connected the transmitting coil to
the BTE earpiece. This cable measured 3¼" (8.3 cm) long.
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Outside view of the small black cloth pouch for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor.
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View of the small black cloth pouch for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor. The cover folded down and was held in place with
velcro. Note that this pouch was only tall enough to hold the speech
processor when it had the small (single-battery) battery pack attached.
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Rear view of the small black cloth pouch for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor. This pouch had ingenious slots for wearing it on a
belt either vertically or horizontally--depending which belt slots you
selected. If you put the belt through the slots on the top and bottom of
the pouch, you'd wear the speech processor horizontally.
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Rear view of the small black cloth pouch for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor. However, if you put your belt through the slots on
each side of the pouch, you'd wear the speech processor vertically.
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Inside view of the small carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor. This case held the speech processor, transmitting coil
and BTE microphone earpiece.
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Top view of the small carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear
Implant speech processor showing the Cochlear logo and name at the front
center.
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Outside view of the small carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor. This case and speech processor weighed a hefty 1 lb
0.6 oz. (472 g).
The case measured 5½" x 5 5/16" x 2 1/16" (14.0 x 13.5 x 5.2
cm).
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Inside view of the large carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor and its accessories.
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Inside view of the large carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor showing the small carrying case (bottom left) and
behind it slots for a spare battery pack and spare batteries (top left).
The A/C power adapter is in the compartment at the top right and various accessories
in the other compartments and under the small carrying case too. |
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Inside view of the lid of the large carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint Cochlear Implant
speech processor and its accessories. showing compartments for various
accessories and spare parts.
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Outside view of the large, fancy carrying case for the Nucleus SPrint
Cochlear Implant speech processor and its accessories.
Complete with shoulder strap, this case and contents weighed a hefty
5 lbs 7½ oz. (2.480 kg).
The case measured 12½" x 9⅛" x 3½" (312.7 x 23.2 x 9.0 cm).
Donated to the Museum by Catherine Tingstrom of Towson, MD.
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