Cochlear Implant Fitting Station Visual Cue Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of fitting cochlear implant systems, particularly for bilateral patients, is hindered by the confusion and misidentification of hardware components and their corresponding software operations, leading to potential mistakes during the fitting process due to the numerous pieces of hardware and dynamically assigned serial ports.
Innovation Solution
A cochlear implant fitting station that detects user inputs and transmits signals to display visual cues, such as LED illuminations or display screens, to accurately map operations with hardware components, ensuring proper connection and operation verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple pieces of fitting hardware are used for bilateral cochlear implant patients, then the functionality and versatility of the system is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of organizing hardware components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple fitting hardware components (CPI devices, sound processors, cables) into a single integrated fitting station. This consolidation maintains the versatility needed for bilateral cochlear implant fitting while eliminating the organizational complexity of managing separate hardware pieces. The fitting station serves as a unified platform that can interface with different cochlear implant systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The fitting station is designed as a universal device capable of working with multiple types of cochlear implant systems and hardware components. It provides multi-functional capabilities including detecting user inputs, transmitting signals, displaying visual cues, and coordinating activities across different hardware components, thereby reducing the need for multiple specialized devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dynamically assigned serial ports are used for hardware communication, then the adaptability and ease of connection is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring hardware/software mapping increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting station implements feedback mechanisms through visual cues (such as LED indicators or display screens) that provide real-time information about the current hardware/software mapping. When a serial port or USB adapter is assigned to a specific cochlear implant, the system displays visual feedback confirming this association, allowing the audiologist to accurately track which hardware component corresponds to which software configuration despite dynamic port assignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs visual cues including color-changing indicators to represent different hardware components and their current assignments. Different colors or color patterns indicate different cochlear implant systems or connection states, providing an intuitive visual mapping that overcomes the complexity of dynamically assigned serial port numbers.
3Ease of operation
If manual coordination of fitting station and hardware components is performed, then the ease of operation is maintained, but the productivity and accuracy of the fitting process decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting station provides automated feedback through visual cues that confirm hardware connections and software operations. This automated feedback system reduces the manual coordination burden on audiologists by automatically displaying confirmation of proper connections and detected operations, thereby maintaining ease of operation while significantly improving productivity and reducing errors.
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary system includes at least one computing device that 1) detects a user input command for a sound processor included in a cochlear implant system to perform one or more cochlear implant fitting operations, wherein the sound processor is communicatively coupled to the at least one computing device by way of a communication path, 2) directs, in response to the user input command, the sound processor to perform the one or more cochlear implant fitting operations, and 3) transmits, in response to the user input command, a signal to the sound processor by way of the communication path, the signal configured to direct the sound processor to display a visual cue prior to or simultaneously with the performance of the one or more cochlear implant fitting operations. Corresponding systems and methods are also described.