Smartphone-Assisted Adaptive Speech Enhancement and Auditory Training of Hearing

描述(由申请人提供)：现有的具有内置处理器和功能的助听器(HAD)执行多个信号处理任务。然而，由于器件大小、处理器的计算能力、存储器大小和麦克风数量等设计限制，可以提高HAD性能的更复杂的信号处理算法的应用要么过于简化，要么被忽视。为了绕过这些设计限制，我们建议使用智能手机和无线技术来辅助和提高民政事务处理的性能。这项建议的主旨是提供一种辅助处理模式，以提高个人HAD用户在各种噪声环境中的语音质量和可理解性。拟议的研究活动在一个大原则下双管齐下：利用智能手机和无线技术的能力，改善个人用户的HAD性能。研究的第一部分提供了另一种方法，其中通过在智能手机的处理器上运行的自适应算法来辅助和增强HAD处理器的信号处理任务。建议的方法将具有优势，利用智能手机的计算资源、功能和麦克风来运行复杂的信号处理算法，而不会给HAD的信号处理器带来沉重的计算和内存负担。当智能手机不在使用时，HAD会单独运行之前保存的算法。研究的第二个组成部分是对第一个研究组成部分的补充。它是针对HAD的个体用户的交互式听觉训练方法的具体应用。听觉训练算法驻留在智能手机上，并可作为新应用程序提供给用户。通过由用户自行决定运行该应用程序，HAD用户可以训练他的听力，以便更好地感知和识别可能被各种类型的残留或中断的短持续时间噪声信号破坏的语音中的口语单词。这项研究的创新之处在于，第一个研究部分同时提高了语音质量和可理解性，而第二个研究部分通过用户控制使HAD个性化。可以在智能手机上操作的交互式听觉训练协议的开发具有创新性，因为它利用了常用技术。因此，用户更容易接受培训计划，因为它很容易获得，并且可以在很短的时间内完成，经常是全天进行。例如，有些人甚至可能在等待公交车或排队点餐时进行培训。所提出的研究为用户提供了个性化和个性化可调的HAD应用程序，并提高了性能。此外，智能手机与HAD无线协作的应用为教育目的、教学和未来的研究创新提供了灵活的平台。这项研究及其成果将为许多新的研究思路和有益的发展铺平道路，以帮助未来不同年龄的听力障碍患者。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Existing hearing aid devices (HAD) with built-in processors and features perform multiple signal processing tasks. However, due to design constraints such as device size, computational capability of processors, memory size, and number of microphones, application of more sophisticated signal processing algorithms that could improve performance of HAD are either oversimplified or ignored. To circumvent these design constraints, we propose the use of smartphone and wireless technologies to assist and improve performance of HAD. The thrust of this proposal is to provide an assistive processing paradigm for enhancing the quality and intelligibility of speech for an individual HAD user in various noisy environments. The proposed research activity takes a two-pronged approach under one overarching principle: improvement of performance of HAD for individual user by utilizing the capabilities of smartphone and wireless technologies. The first component of research provides an alternative approach where the signal processing tasks of the HAD processors are assisted and enhanced by the adaptive algorithms run on the processor of a smartphone. The proposed approach will have the advantage of tapping into the computing resources, features, and microphones of smartphone for running complex signal processing algorithms without placing heavy computation and memory burdens on the signal processors of HAD. When the smartphone is not in use, the HAD operates alone running the previously saved-in algorithms. The second component of research is complementary to the first research component. It is on specific application of interactive auditory training methods for the individua user of HAD. The auditory training algorithm resides on the smartphone and is available to the user as a new application. By running this application at the user discretion, the HAD user can train his hearing ability for better perception and recognition of spoken words in the speech that might be corrupted by various types of residual or interrupting short-duration noise signals. An innovation of the proposed study lies in that while the first research component improves enhancement of quality and intelligibility of speech simultaneously, the second research component individualizes the HAD through user controls. The development of interactive auditory training protocols which can be operated on a smartphone is innovative because it takes advantage of commonly used technology. Therefore, the users are more receptive to engage in the training programs because it is readily available and can be done in brief moments, frequently throughout the day. For example, some may even engage in training while waiting for a bus or while in line to order food. The proposed research offers the users a personalized and individually tunable application of HAD with improved performance. Furthermore, application of smartphone working wirelessly with HAD offers a flexible platform for educational purposes, teaching, and future research innovations. The proposed study and its outcomes will pave the way for many new research ideas and useful development to help people of different age with hearing disorders in future.