Monte Carlo simulation of tuning capacitor selection in a cochlear implant

The principles of Monte Carlo simulation are applied to critical manufacturing process in the construction of cochlear implants. In this application, the tuning of the implant's radio frequency (RF) communication system is dependent upon a "select on test" tuning capacitance. The aim is to accurately predict the usage of capacitors of a given size in future production of cochlear implants using Monte-Carlo simulation. The predicted quantities may then be purchased from a supplier to satisfy the requirements of high volume manufacturing without maintaining unnecessary and expensive stock levels of infrequently or never used capacitors. Simulations indicate that for large production runs, prediction of the necessary quantities of particular tuning capacitor sizes may enable the implant manufacturer to reduce their capacitor stock levels by as much as 82 percent. This significant reduction is in comparison to maintaining a uniform stock level of all sizes of capacitors, assuming random probability of requiring each size of tuning capacitor.