Gradual Focusing for Hearing Prosthesis Acclimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hearing prostheses, such as cochlear implants, often require a fitting process that may lead to overstimulation and lack of individualized adjustment, failing to account for the recipient's specific needs and preferences.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for gradually transitioning from less focused to more focused stimulation settings in hearing prostheses, allowing recipients to make adjustments and reducing the risk of overstimulation through incremental changes in control settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hearing aids use air conduction to amplify sound, then the device can transmit acoustic signals to the cochlea, but individuals with conductive hearing loss still experience impeded sound transmission due to damage to the ossicular chain or ear canal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical air conduction system with a bone conduction system. Instead of using air to transmit sound waves through the ear canal and ossicles, the invention uses a mechanical actuator that couples directly to the skull bone to transmit vibrations, bypassing the damaged ossicular chain and ear canal structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces bone conduction as an intermediary pathway for sound transmission. The mechanical actuator serves as a mediator that transfers sound vibrations directly through the skull bone to the inner ear, circumventing the blocked or damaged air conduction path.
2Reliability
If cochlear implants convert sound to electrical stimulation, then hearing perception can be restored for sensorineural hearing loss, but the fitting process requires complex individualized adjustment that may lead to overstimulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables dynamic adjustment of stimulation parameters including intensity, frequency, and duration. The system can modify these parameters in real-time based on recipient feedback and measured responses, allowing optimization of the electrical stimulation to achieve effective hearing restoration while avoiding overstimulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the static fitting process into a dynamic, adaptive system. The stimulation parameters are not fixed but can be adjusted in real-time based on recipient responses, making the fitting process more flexible and easier to optimize while reducing the risk of overstimulation.
3Measurement precision
If the prosthesis uses maximum focus stimulation, then the stimulation precision is improved, but the risk of overstimulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial focusing rather than maximum focusing. By using a balanced focus level that is sufficient to achieve precise stimulation without concentrating all energy in a single point, the system maintains stimulation precision while distributing the energy load to prevent overstimulation and tissue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor recipient responses to stimulation. Based on this feedback, the system automatically adjusts the focusing level and stimulation parameters to maintain optimal precision while preventing overstimulation, creating a closed-loop control system.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the fitting process allows individualized adjustment, then the adaptability to recipient needs is improved, but the time required for fitting and acclimation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent structures the fitting process as a series of periodic adjustment sessions rather than a single prolonged process. The system implements gradual acclimation protocols where parameters are adjusted in scheduled intervals, allowing the recipient to adapt systematically while reducing the total time commitment compared to continuous adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary assessments and preliminary parameter settings before the main fitting process. By conducting initial evaluations and pre-configuring stimulation parameters based on baseline measurements, the system reduces the time required for subsequent individualized adjustments and accelerates the overall fitting process.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of at least partially fitting a hearing prosthesis device to a recipient, including obtaining access to a sensory prosthesis that has been used to evoke a sensory percept using a first focusing regime for a temporal period corresponding to at least acclimation to the first focusing regime and adjusting a control setting of the prosthesis to increase focusing relative to that which is the case with respect to the first focusing regime, wherein the action of adjusting the control setting includes purposely adjusting the control setting to have focusing that is effectively less focused than a maximum focus possible.