Speech processors partition sound using ERB bandwidths and calibrated pulse amplitude per electrode.

Evidence

Modern cochlea implants usually offer a choice of speech-processing algorithms that essentially provide an appropriate stimulus to electrodes based on their position within the cochlea relative to the analysis frequency at that place. Band-pass filtering with ERB or equivalent bandwidths enables the input spectrum to be partitioned appropriately, and the stimulus sent to each electrode is specific patterns of pulses with controllable amplitude. Cochlea implants have to be set up such that the minimum and maximum stimulation level for each electrode is calibrated, something that typically needs to be repeated over time to accommodate any physiological change or electrode movement. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2684

Categorization

• XREF: Ties the psychoacoustic ERB concept from the masking/auditory-filter chapters to a real clinical engineering application.
• QUESTION: If the implant partitions the spectrum by ERB, does it also reproduce the perceptual effects (masking, loudness summation) that ERB bandwidths normally govern?