Hearing Aid Connectivity to Consumer Electronics

助听器与消费电子产品的连接

• 批准号: 8020979
• 负责人: DANIEL S HEDIN
• 金额: $ 41.39万
• 依托单位: ADVANCED MEDICAL ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-02-20 至 2014-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8020979
• 关键词: Adoption; Affect; American; Area; Cellular Phone; Consumption; Coupling; Custom; Data; Device Designs; Devices; Ear; Electronics; External auditory canal; Health; Hearing; Hearing Aids; Household; Human; Hybrids; Individual; Industry; Institutes; Life; Link; Magnetism; Manufacturer Name; Medical Electronics; Methods; Minnesota; Music; Noise; Output; Phase; Physiologic pulse; Radio; Research; Research Personnel; Resources; Semiconductors; Signal Transduction; Solutions; Source; Stream; Surveys; System; Technology; Television; Universities; Wireless Technology; analog; base; commercialization; design; digital; experience; hearing impairment; interest; new technology; novel; prototype; sound; transmission process

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project will develop a digital wireless streaming stereo audio system for the hearing impaired. Phase I has successfully demonstrated a novel technology that can be integrated fully into modern behind-the-ear hearing aids to receive audio from consumer electronics devices such as cell phones, televisions, stereos, and personal media devices. The system uses on a small transmitter that plugs into standard headphone jack to digitize and transmit the audio to the hearing aid. In hearing aids, capturing sound close to the source before it is combined with background noise offers better signal to noise ratio. In the case of consumer electronics devices, hearing aid users encounter difficulties with sound quality when using the integrated speakers of such devices. These devices often provide a standard audio output which offers a low noise signal. Existing methods to transmit audio signals to hearing aids from consumer electronics devices include Bluetooth, magnetic coupling (digital and analog), and FM. FM radios are prone to interference and distortion and are being replaced by digital wireless solutions. Bluetooth consumes too much power to be directly integrated into small hearing aids, so these solutions require larger batteries in modules external to the hearing aid. Magnetic coupling can be made low power but can only transmit for short distances. There are many reasons why previous connectivity systems have experienced poor adoption rates and most are related to the intermediate relay module found in current solutions. The proposed solution will be the first to eliminate this relay module to allow direct long-range transmission to a micro behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. The proposed wireless technology will offer larger distances (15 ft.) than magnetic coupling solutions and lower power (less than 200uW) than all digital alternatives. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: According to a Better Hearing Institute's (BHI) recent survey of 56,000 households, 31.5 million Americans have hearing loss. Hearing loss affects 1 in 10 Americans and 1 in 4 households. Furthermore while 95% of individuals with hearing loss could be successfully treated with hearing aids, only 23% currently use them. This project proposes to develop a low power, easy to use, hearing aid option that allows wireless transmission of audio directly to wireless enabled hearing aids from consumer electronics.

项目描述（由申请人提供）：本项目将为听障人士开发一套数字无线流媒体立体声音响系统。第一阶段成功展示了一种新技术，该技术可以完全集成到现代耳后助听器中，以接收来自手机、电视、音响和个人媒体设备等消费电子设备的音频。该系统使用一个插入标准耳机插孔的小型发射器，将音频数字化并传输到助听器。在助听器中，在声音与背景噪声结合之前捕获靠近声源的声音可以提供更好的信噪比。以消费电子设备为例，助听器用户在使用此类设备的集成扬声器时，会遇到音质方面的困难。这些设备通常提供一个标准的音频输出，提供低噪声信号。从消费电子设备向助听器传输音频信号的现有方法包括蓝牙、磁耦合（数字和模拟）和调频。调频收音机容易受到干扰和失真，正被数字无线解决方案所取代。蓝牙功耗太大，无法直接集成到小型助听器中，因此这些解决方案需要在助听器外部的模块中安装更大的电池。磁耦合可以做得低功率，但只能传输短距离。以前的连接系统采用率低的原因有很多，其中大多数与当前解决方案中的中间中继模块有关。提出的解决方案将是第一个消除中继模块，允许直接远程传输到微型耳后助听器（BTE）。所提出的无线技术将提供比磁耦合解决方案更大的距离（15英尺）和比所有数字替代方案更低的功率（小于200uW）。公共健康相关性：根据听力改善研究所（BHI）最近对56,000个家庭的调查，3150万美国人有听力损失。听力损失影响着十分之一的美国人和四分之一的家庭。此外，虽然95%的听力损失患者可以通过助听器成功治疗，但目前只有23%的人在使用助听器。该项目提出开发一种低功耗、易于使用的助听器选项，允许从消费电子产品直接无线传输音频到无线助听器。