Hearing Prosthesis Automated Training via Response Analysis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Hearing professionals face increased time demands managing hearing prosthesis recipients with residual hearing, requiring improved post-implantation clinical care without increasing professional time, especially for those with complex acoustic-electric hearing needs.

Innovation Solution

A hearing prosthesis system that delivers test stimulation and analyzes graphical and verbalized responses to generate individualized training material, improving hearing perception and verbalization skills through targeted rehabilitation training.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If hearing professionals manually manage and analyze each recipient's hearing data and provide personalized rehabilitation training, then the quality of post-implantation care and speech habilitation improves, but the time demand and workload on professionals increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequality of post-implantation careVSAvoidtime demand on professionals

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automated self-service functionality where the hearing prosthesis automatically delivers test signals, records recipient responses (both graphical and verbalized), analyzes the data, and generates individualized training material without requiring manual professional intervention for each step, thereby reducing time demand while maintaining care quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of professional analysis and training material creation with an automated electronic system that uses processors to analyze response data and generate personalized training content, eliminating the time-consuming manual workflow

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Device complexity

If generic training material is used for all hearing prosthesis recipients, then the complexity of individualized assessment and training generation is reduced, but the effectiveness of speech and language habilitation deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomplexity of training programVSAvoideffectiveness of speech habilitation

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements local quality by tailoring the training material to each recipient's specific needs, analyzing their individual graphical and verbalized responses to generate customized training content that addresses their particular hearing and speech challenges, thereby improving effectiveness without requiring excessive complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary assessment by automatically analyzing recipient responses before generating training material, pre-identifying specific areas needing improvement in speech and language habilitation, which allows for targeted effective training without complex manual evaluation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10198964B2Individualized rehabilitation training of a hearing prosthesis recipient

Publication Date: 2019.02.05 COCHLEAR LIMITED

AI summary

Presented herein are techniques for increasing the user experience of implantable hearing prostheses through improvements in post-implantation clinical care.