I-Corps: A virtual reality software for listening with hearing aids in complex environments

I-Corps：一款用于在复杂环境中使用助听器聆听的虚拟现实软件

• 批准号: 2230843
• 负责人: Matthew Neal
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-01 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2230843&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; virtual; reality; software; listening

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to increase the adoption and perceived benefit of hearing aids using an improved virtual reality (VR) fitting process. Although many people may benefit from using hearing aids, the majority of potential patients choose not to purchase any devices. The different reasons suggested for not using hearing aids include negative stigma, cost, and little to no perceived benefit. The current process of fitting hearing aids is indirect, requiring multiple visits to the clinic. Users typically are fit with hearing aids, sent out to use them for a few weeks, and then asked return to the clinic for adjustments. As such, the process is time consuming to tune a device properly, and it is hard to know if the final tuning is what is best for a specific patient. The proposed virtual reality (VR) software may enable direct, real-time feedback about hearing aid fitting in a controlled clinical environment with a trained audiologist. Patients may be more involved in the hearing aid tuning process, enabling them to directly perceive the benefit of wearing hearing aids. With increased hearing aid adoption, better social engagement may potentially lower the rates of cognitive decline and depression, known comorbidities with hearing loss.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a virtual reality (VR) software to improve the fitting process for hearing aids within audiology clinics. The proposed technology uses an algorithm that enables a highly accurate virtual acoustic rendering of listening with and without hearing aids in realistic sound fields. Existing virtual acoustic algorithms have inaccuracies at higher frequencies, where hearing loss is most common. These inaccuracies make developing VR demonstrations of hearing aids difficult for complex, realistic sound fields. The proposed algorithm is designed to work well at all frequencies, so it may be accurately applied to virtual rendering of listening with hearing aids. The VR software developed for this project simulates both a listener’s natural hearing, without hearing aids, and a listener’s aided hearing, while wearing hearing aids. As such, this software seeks to allow a listener to directly compare their current hearing with the experience of wearing a hearing aid. The proposed technology uses devices currently on the market that are compatible with current hearing aid fitting processes and software used in audiology clinics. The proposed software also may be scaled to work with any hearing aid capable of low-latency streaming, expanding its compatibility across different devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使用改进的虚拟现实（VR）拟合过程来增加助听器的采用和感知益处。尽管许多人可能会从使用助听器中受益，但大多数潜在患者选择不购买任何设备。建议不使用助听器的不同原因包括负面的污名，成本和几乎没有感知的收益。当前安装助听器的过程是间接的，需要对诊所进行多次访问。用户通常适合助听器，派遣使用它们几个星期，然后要求返回诊所进行调整。因此，该过程很耗时，可以正确调整设备，并且很难知道最终调整是否对特定患者是最好的。拟议的虚拟现实（VR）软件可以通过训练有素的听力学家在受控临床环境中进行直接的，实时的实时反馈。患者可能会更多地参与助听器调整过程，从而使他们能够直接了解戴助听器的好处。随着助听器采用的增加，更好的社交参与可能会降低认知能力下降和抑郁症的速度，这是已知的合并症，并具有听力损失。该I-Corps项目基于AIDS虚拟现实（VR）软件的开发，以改善听力学诊所内助听器的合适过程。提出的技术使用了一种算法，该算法能够在现实的声场中具有和不带有助听器的聆听的高度准确的虚拟声学渲染。现有的虚拟声学算法在最常见的听力损失的情况下具有较高频率的不准确性。这些不准确性使得为复杂，现实的声场开发了助听器的VR演示。所提出的算法旨在在所有频率上都可以很好地工作，因此可以准确地应用于助听器的虚拟渲染。为该项目开发的VR软件模拟了听众的自然听力，没有助听器，也可以在戴着助听器的同时听众的辅助听力。因此，该软件旨在允许听众将目前的听力与戴助听器的经历进行比较。拟议的技术使用目前市场上的设备，这些设备与当前的听力学诊所中使用的助听器拟合过程和软件兼容。该提议的软件可以扩展到与能够低延迟流媒体流的任何助听器合作，从而扩大了其在不同设备之间的兼容性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估，认为NSF的法定任务被认为是宝贵的支持。