In-Ear Energy Harvesting for Wearables Technologies from Jaw-Joint Deformation

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The goal of the proposed research program is to advance state-of-the-art knowledge in the field of human earcanal deformations resulting from jaw-joint movement during eating and speaking activities. Such knowledge will help to develop miniaturized in-ear micro-energy harvesters able to transform this mechanical energy into a source of electrical power for all kinds of electronic in-ear wearable devices, including hearing aids.******To achieve this, four interrelated research projects, involving 2 master's degree students (MS) and 2 doctoral students (PhD), will be conducted to: a) quantify the typical amount of mechanical energy generated on a daily basis from earcanal deformation, b) study earcanal deformations and determine the stress-strain properties of the human earcanal fitted with a custom earpiece, c) model the mechanical coupling between the earcanal, the in-ear device and the embedded micro-energy harvester, d) develop a parametric model for the individualized design of a micro-energy harvester that matches each individual earcanal morphology.******The proposed research program will provide unique knowledge relating to the human earcanal's static and dynamic deformation. Such knowledge is of great interest for various medical fields of research, from the mechanical design of comfortable biomedical in-ear devices (hearing protectors, hearing aids, communication earpieces, etc.) to the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), a medical condition where proper models of earcanal deformation are key.******The outcome of the research program will also be of clear benefit for the design of in-ear micro-energy harvesters. Such technology could benefit our Canadian industrial partner, EERS Technologies 4.0 Inc., for the future powering of its own product line of electronic hearing protection and communication-in-noise earpieces currently being developed within the NSERC-EERS Industrial Research Chair in In-Ear technologies held by the applicant. Finally, the licence of the resulting technology to hearing-aid manufacturers could ultimately lead to the development of self-powered hearing-aids and would be a great relief to the 300 million users who currently have to change their hearing aid batteries on a weekly basis.