Subdermal bone conduction headphones?
So, I've been thinking about the modifications I want, and a magnet in the finger doesn't appeal too much to me. I have some ideas for magnets, but there is one idea that's is much more interesting and nove to mel: subdermal bone conduction headphones. I've done a little thinking on it but so far everything is very theoretical.
So far it seems like my best bet would be to use some form of flexing piezoelectric element, of which I can harvest a simple one from a Radio Shack buzzer. Then bioproof it, figure out a way to power it, and then supply it with signal.
But the problem is I want the connection point to be closer to my pocket, where I'm more likely to keep a music player than my skull. That means in addition to some way to keep the buzzer bioproofed and attached to the skull, I need wiring of some sort.
So basically, I'm just wondering if anyone's done any work on something like this. Has anyone dealt with anchoring stuff to the skeleton? My layman knowledge suggests that something like one of those hammer-on wooden beam connectors for a skull, with small holes in the metal stickout prongs that the bone could grow through should be sufficient and not too difficult to make out of biocompatible metals. But I'm not sure. And I'm not sure how to get the signal down my body, from each ear. I need to be able to carry a fair amount of power back and forth.
Any ideas or similar work?
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Attachment and power would be problematic, as would would be finding the optimal location within the jaw or skull.
As for wires, you could always use Bluetooth (the chip or some sort to receive and transmit) to communicate without wires, and the handheld device of your choice that would serve as a processor.
Interesting idea, since I always listen to music. The head phones(probably bluetooth) might be ok as a transdermal if the outer part is small enough. Power is a problem though,,, a wire going down the neck is a risky thing to do, but conductive ink seems to be a perfect option, here is the idea: gregfulco.com/pdfs/bodyTech.pdf
I'm a tattoo artist and piercer, so this idea is awesome, will do some experiments...
Worst thing about the wires is the difficulty of implanting them, big procedure, no chance in hell that I would be able to make that procedure on my self...
Also I'm not very knowlidgeable on induction charging, will put my google-foo in use and do some research, will update with new design asap..
Element next to the skull?= Silicone coating, thicker on the side faceing the skull?
What would sound quality be like with one of those little radio shak buzzers? I know if I was going to have cans in my head I'd want something that would sound amazing!
Context? I spent the afternoon comparing headphones and amps. At one point I had aboutt $12,000 worth of audio gear between my iPod and my ears... and it was nice.
btw there are commercially available bone-transmitter based headsets for noisy environments. you don' really need a bone anchor for that. nor any implant at all.
about coating, i think there was that one issue with parylene where the body can degrade it , creating tiny holes in the thin coating. depending on your base material that can be a serious problem.
i estimate it would have rather high power demand. and probably a horrible response for low frequencies ;) still, worth a try without implanting it at first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Harbisson
and thought it would quite fit to this thread since he is going to have a "bone speaker" attached to his skull.
That method means that any kind of speaker or other vibrating object pressed against the bone could perform well in such use. But to conduct well it might indeed need to be pressed against the bone so that the sound doesn't dissipate in soft tissues.
Indeed a dental prosthesis could be a very good spot to place such implant (it could house a mic too ;P ) if you can make it durable enough and convince a dentist to put it in your mouth (you don't want to do it yourself for sure), or any implant that could be attached to bone by screws or other method...
The problem is - operating on bones, especially skull bones at home == bad idea. 'Enjoy your meningitis' to quote one person ;)
The ways I can imagine as viable is somehow attaching a device to teeth (probably on the lateral, external face (so facing your cheek, not inside of mouth). It is a bit risky though - you need to attach it so well, so that it doesn't detach while you sleep and choke you. Plus you quite probably will damage your teeth unless you are very careful and use proper method for attaching...
In the imperfect, grinding environment I imagine any speaker placed under skin where it's thin - as in little tissue between skin and bone (possibly behind ear for example, or under hair as close to ear as possible) to have it pressed against the bone quite well by the skin itself. It should work quite well and if you'd need to hear something really barely audible you could press the implant stronger against your bone from outside. Could be unpleasant though and placement would have to be in such a place where it won't hurt you for example when you sleep (hence behind ear could be a good idea too, especially if it's not very big)...
Also keep in mind, that if it gets infected it can very easily mean huge problems even if it isn't screwed to the bone - infections can spread quite rapidly in this area, and there is quite little space where it won't damage anything important if not treated really quick. And you probably know what most surgeons will tell you when they have to yank the implant out and treat the infection (unless they're like me and would say 'wow, that's awesome, but you totally botched it') ;P
And well, not everyone may want to have visible implants/scars (I for one can't, at least until I'd be able to make the living from implants, even tats on doctors can be frowned upon, much more such 'selfmutilations' ;P )...
Actually, tats are becoming more and more accepted; I know quite a few people who hold highly-ranked positions, with visible tattoos. Of course, there will always be employers prejudiced against any form of body modification, but hopefully those people will end up becoming the minority.
It probably is frowned upon because of ciminal subcultures used tats extensively first and only later it all seeped into popular culture... But as tats get more and more common, additional piercings in places other than women ears get more and more common, probably the problem will subside...
Especially when grinding will start seeping into the popculture... They might focus on us instead then though ;P
P.S. Labeling something 'self-mutilation' is an argument against it, because it's a sign of psychic illness, but most of us are actually quite sane, so most wouldn't fit under the label of self mutilating ;P It's just abusing the label, not the label itself being wrong/not argument against something...
CHECK IT OUT!!
And in general keep everything as sterile as possible - all tools sterile, the skin to be cut sterile, the implant sterile, sterile gloves...
The implant shouldn't be covered by the stitch, but rather one would make a 'pocket' under the skin and insert the implant inside. That's because if the implant would be right under the wound and stitches it would press on the tissues, because that'd cause the wound to heal slower (or not to heal at all).
With stitches it's also quite important so that they're not too loose nor too tight - the first will cause the wound to not heal fast enough and the latter will cause parts of the tissue to not get enough blood, which in turn may cause the skin around too tight stitch to necrotize/break apart.
Then clean wound dressing, possibly changed daily.
One should avoid wetting the area for as long as possible until it's healed, especially first 2-3 days until it's really well clotted and started healing.
In general anything that makes the wound heal longer will make the risk of infection greater. Assuming that during the procedure the tools, and especially the implant were sterile of course.
The smaller the interference with the organism, the better, so minimizing the size of implant, minimizing the cut, minimizing the healing time is the way to go. With increasing each of those the risk of infection will be higher.
Proper surgical cutting and sewing techniques are probably a matter for at least a small book, which might be a good idea getting. Stitching probably should be trained first a bit on something like a piece of meat, especially with the skin, or on a banana skin...
I know that when I was searching to learn myself I saw some pages and vids about such things, but I don't have any precise links now anymore...