Virtual Auditory Space for Spatial Localization Hearing Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Audiometric evaluations in traditional settings are poorly representative of daily hearing experiences due to difficulty in controlling and reproducing noise levels in natural or artificial sound spaces, making it challenging to conduct reliable assessments.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that create virtual auditory environments to simulate real or artificial sound spaces, using visual and sound output devices, movement detection, and processors to calculate a spatial auditory localization score by tracking patient movements in response to virtual sound sources, allowing for controllable and reproducible evaluations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If audiometric evaluations are carried out in natural or artificial sound spaces, then the representativeness of daily hearing experience is improved, but the controllability and reproducibility of noise levels deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual auditory space that copies the acoustic characteristics of real-world environments (cafes, streets, offices) without physically reproducing the uncontrollable noise levels. The virtual environment preserves the representativeness of daily hearing experiences while eliminating the harmful variability of actual ambient noise, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual auditory space acts as an intermediary between the patient and real-world sound environments. It mediates the evaluation process by providing a controlled representation of natural sound spaces, allowing patients to experience representative acoustic conditions while the system maintains precise control over noise levels through computational audio modeling rather than physical reproduction.
2Reliability
If traditional audiometric assessment is performed in a controlled booth, then the controllability of noise levels is improved, but the representativeness of patient's daily hearing experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of physically reproducing real-world sound spaces (which would compromise control), the system creates a virtual copy of the auditory environment. This virtual representation maintains all the acoustic characteristics relevant to daily experiences (cafes, streets, offices) while preserving the controlled conditions necessary for reliable measurement, thus resolving the contradiction between controllability and representativeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical acoustic environments with a computational audio system. Rather than relying on actual sound waves from real spaces, the system uses processed audio signals generated through virtual auditory space modeling, substituting the mechanical/physical acoustic field with a controlled digital representation that maintains both controllability and representativeness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If virtual auditory environments are created to simulate real sound spaces, then the representativeness of hearing experience is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual auditory space system serves multiple functions within a unified framework: it provides controlled noise levels, creates representative acoustic environments, tracks patient movements, and delivers spatial auditory localization assessments. By consolidating these functions into a single integrated system rather than separate devices, the patent reduces overall device complexity while maintaining high adaptability to different hearing scenarios.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
One of the objectives of this invention is to enable audiometric assessments to be carried out in natural or artificial sound environments in a controllable and reproducible manner. To this end, the inventors propose creating virtual environments that reproduce the sonic and visual characteristics of natural or artificial spaces. In practice, a user experience is initiated between a subject and a virtual environment to simulate a specific audiometric test. Next, an initial movement of the user is detected, followed by periodic measurements until a second predetermined movement is detected. Finally, a spatial auditory localization score is determined, representing the accuracy of the user's decision-making, based on the measurements taken in the virtual environment.