Remote Audio Processor Module for Cochlear Implants
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Solution Overview
Problem
Auditory prosthesis systems face challenges in improving audio signal perception, especially in noisy environments, due to the need for computationally intensive signal processing, which results in larger and less efficient device components.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an implanted cochlear stimulator, a behind-the-ear sound processing unit, and a remote audio processor module, where the remote module performs at least a portion of the signal processing heuristic, allowing for more accurate and efficient information conveyance and reducing the computational load on the behind-the-ear unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If computationally intensive signal processing is performed to improve audio signal perception in noisy environments, then audio perception quality is improved, but device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The signal processing system is divided into two separate units: a behind-the-ear unit and a remote audio processor. The behind-the-ear unit handles basic signal processing and transmission, while the remote audio processor performs computationally intensive signal processing heuristics. This segmentation allows complex processing to be distributed to a separate device, improving audio perception quality without increasing the size of the behind-the-ear unit.
Solution Approach 2:
A remote audio processor acts as an intermediary device that receives audio signals from the behind-the-ear unit, performs computationally intensive signal processing, and returns processed signals. This intermediary approach enables complex processing to be performed externally, resolving the contradiction between processing capability and device size.
2Productivity
If computationally intensive signal processing is performed to improve audio signal perception, then signal processing capability is improved, but device efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the processing tasks between the behind-the-ear unit and the remote audio processor, the computationally intensive operations are performed by a separate device with its own power supply. This segmentation improves signal processing capability while maintaining efficiency in the implanted cochlear stimulator, as it only performs lightweight processing and transmission tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The remote audio processor serves itself by performing the computationally intensive signal processing operations that would otherwise burden the cochlear stimulator. This self-service approach allows the implanted device to maintain high efficiency while the external processor handles the demanding computational tasks.
Data Source
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AI summary
An exemplary auditory prosthesis system includes an auditory prosthesis configured to be implanted within a head of a patient and to apply electrical stimulation representative of an audio signal to one or more stimulation sites within the patient in accordance with one or more stimulation parameters, a behind-the-ear sound processing unit configured to be secured to an ear of the patient and to transmit the one or more stimulation parameters to the auditory prosthesis, and a remote audio processor module separate from the behind-the-ear sound processing unit and communicatively coupled to the behind-the-ear sound processing unit via a communication link, the remote audio processor module configured to perform at least a portion of a signal processing heuristic on the audio signal in order to facilitate generation of the one or more stimulation parameters. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.