BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to indicator lights positioned beneath the surface of a device housing.

Related Art

Medical devices having one or more implantable components, generally referred to herein as implantable medical devices, have provided a wide range of therapeutic benefits to recipients over recent decades. In particular, partially or fully-implantable medical devices such as hearing prostheses (e.g., bone conduction devices, mechanical stimulators, cochlear implants, etc.), implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, functional electrical stimulation devices, and other implantable medical devices, have been successful in performing lifesaving and/or lifestyle enhancement functions for a number of years.

The types of implantable medical devices and the ranges of functions performed thereby have increased over the years. For example, many implantable medical devices now often include one or more instruments, apparatus, sensors, processors, controllers or other functional mechanical or electrical components that are permanently or temporarily implanted in a recipient. These functional devices are typically used to diagnose, prevent, monitor, treat, or manage a disease/injury or symptom thereof, or to investigate, replace or modify the anatomy or a physiological process. Many of these functional devices utilize power and/or data received from external devices that are part of, or operate in conjunction with, the implantable medical device.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises: a housing including at least one acoustic port; a microphone positioned within the housing in alignment with the acoustic port; at least one optical connector positioned within the acoustic port; and at least one indicator light positioned within the housing, wherein the at least one indicator light is optically coupled to the acoustic port via the optical connector such that light emitted from the at least one indicator light is visible outside of the housing via the acoustic port.

In another aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises: a housing comprising at least one acoustic port, an outer surface, and an inner surface; a printed circuit board (PCB) positioned within the housing adjacent to the acoustic port; a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphone mounted on the PCB in-line with the acoustic port; at least one indicator light co-located with the MEMS microphone on the PCB below the inner surface of the housing; and at least one optical connector optically coupling the at least one indicator light to the outer surface of the housing.

