Enhanced Multimedia Telehealth for Hearing Disabilities

描述（由申请人提供）：远程医疗或远程医疗已经开启了 为那些可能无法获得专业医疗服务的人提供世界级的专业医疗服务 获得适当的护理。尽管在远程医疗方面投入了大量公共资金 倡议中，耳聋或听力困难的人遇到了严重的障碍 由于音频质量和信号有限而无法访问当前系统 语言和唇读能力。此外，目前的视频会议 系统依赖于硬件，使得该技术的启动成本高昂 并升级。该项目提出了一系列软件驱动的适应措施 当前的远程医疗系统将促进语音和手语 理解。该项目将实现三个目标：1）增强语言能力 通过开发实时语音驱动的字幕系统来理解 自动转录医疗保健提供者的讲话并显示在 患者和医疗保健提供者远程医疗站点，2) 它将促进 通过开发高质量低延迟的唇读和手语阅读 仅软件视频编码系统，可提供清晰的嘴唇运动场景 并与语音和字幕同步进行双手操作，并且 3) 它将评估 这些技术创新在促进可接受的方面的有效性 不同地区人们远程医疗互动中的语言理解水平 听力频谱。虽然拟议的目标侧重于有听力的人 损失，预计远程医疗的多媒体增强将 听力完好的人也能受益匪浅。的影响 所提出的创新意义深远。医疗专业服务包括： 目前使用远程医疗的紧急服务、心脏病学、精神病学 聋人和听力障碍人士将更容易使用网络系统 患者，包括许多听力损失的老年人。拟议的 适应措施还将使远程医疗能够支持其他服务，例如 如言语/语言治疗和认知康复；因此，扩大 为农村和其他服务不足的人群提供一系列服务。 聋哑人和听力困难人士获得及时护理的机会可能会得到改善 改善这些人群的健康。此外，它将减少双 美国农村耳聋的隔离。拟议的创新将具有 概念上和全球范围内的适用性，并将促进健康相关的研究 远程医疗应用以及传统上不值得的需求 包括聋哑人、听力障碍人士和老年人在内的人群。

DESCRIPTION (Provided by Applicant): Telemedicine or telehealth has opened a world of specialty health services to persons who may otherwise be unable to access appropriate care. Despite enormous public investment in telehealth initiatives, people who are deaf or hard of hearing encounter serious barriers in accessing current systems because of limited audio quality and limited sign language and lip reading capability. In addition, current videoconferencing systems are hardware-dependent, rendering this technology costly to initiate and upgrade. This project proposes a software driven array of adaptations to current telehealth systems that will facilitate speech and sign language comprehension. The project will achieve three aims: 1) It will enhance language comprehension by developing a real-time voice driven captioning system that automatically transcribes the speech of health care providers for display at both patient and health care provider telehealth sites, 2) It wilI facilitate lip reading and sign language reading by developing a high quality low delay software-only video coding system that can deliver clear motion scenes of lips and hands in synchrony with both speech and captions, and 3) It will evaluate the effectiveness of these technological innovations in facilitating acceptable language comprehension levels in telehealth interactions among persons across the hearing spectrum. While the proposed aims focus on persons with hearing loss, it is expected that the multimedia enhancements to telehealth will significantly benefit persons with intact hearing as well. The effects of the proposed innovations are far-reaching. Medical specialty services including: emergency services, cardiology, psychiatry, which currently use telehealth network systems will become more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing patients, including many elderly persons with hearing loss. The proposed adaptations also will allow for telehealth to support additional services such as speech/language therapy, and cognitive rehabilitation; thus, broadening the array of services available to rural and other underserved populations. Improved access to timely care for deaf and hard of hearing persons will likely improve the health of these populations. In addition, it will reduce the dual isolation of deafness in rural America. The proposed innovations will have notional and worldwide applicability and will spur health-related research in telehealth applications as well as the need of traditionally undeserved populations including deaf, hard of hearing and elderly persons.