Open Source System for Audio Processing

项目总结 该提案响应了RFA-DC-16-002，其中NIDCD正在寻求支持 声信号处理工具，有可能加速研究并促进 翻译用于助听器的新算法。大约15%的美国成年人报告说有不同程度的 听力障碍，12.7%的12岁及以上的美国人经历双侧听力损失(HL)。2008年 助听器行业调查MarkeTrack报告称，轻度听力损失者使用助听器的比例不到十分之一 扩音器，而只有十分之四的中到重度听力损失的人使用扩音器，留下 大片的听力受损人口没有康复。虽然助听器不好的原因 采用是多样和复杂的，自掏腰包的成本是一个需要解决的问题。事实上， 参议院2013财年拨款报告的措辞“强烈敦促NIDCD支持以下研究拨款 可以带来更便宜的助听器，因此这样的助听器可以变得更容易获得和负担得起 作为促进全国听力保健的主要联邦机构，NIDCD正在积极寻求 从公共卫生角度解决可获得性问题。除了成本之外，实现以下目标的主要障碍之一 助听器的采用仍然保持良好的质量，人们仍然感觉助听器仍然不能完全满足所有人的需求 听障消费者的需求。 Creare及其在Boys town国立研究医院(BTNRH)的合作者计划开发和 传播一个开源的音频处理平台，以促进助听器(HA)研究的创新。这个 这一努力的结果将是一种用户友好、便携式、可升级和可穿戴的“主助听器”(MHA)，它 将允许在更广泛的范围内协作开发和开放交换新处理算法 听力研究社区，包括学术界和产业界。MHA中使用的硬件具有 开放的、发布的设计架构，使用当前电子市场上可用的组件。我们 设想三个层次的用户：(1)“专家”用户直接在固件中实现和测试新算法 通过允许他们访问硬件的基本特征的接口(音频输入和输出， 电源管理、内务等)；(2)在软件应用程序处进行交互的“开发者”用户 编程接口(API)级，以修改已经在固件中实现的算法的参数 评估他们在各种条件下的表现；以及(3)“专业”用户可以访问 通过简单的用户界面对算法进行一定程度的参数控制，以进行测试 可穿戴式MASTER助听器提供的放大变体的相对优势。

PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal responds to RFA–DC-16-002, in which the NIDCD is seeking to support the development of acoustic signal processing tools that have the potential to accelerate research studies and to facilitate the translation of novel algorithms for hearing aids. Approximately 15% of American adults report some degree of hearing trouble, and 12.7% of Americans aged 12 and over experience bilateral hearing loss (HL). The 2008 hearing aid industry survey MarkeTrack VIII reports that less than 1 in 10 people with mild hearing loss uses amplification, while only 4 in 10 people with moderate-to-severe hearing loss use amplification, leaving still a large swath of the hearing impaired population without rehabilitation. While the reasons for poor hearing aid adoption are diverse and complex, out-of-pocket costs rank high as an issue to be addressed. And in fact, the Senate Report Language for FY2013 appropriations “strongly urges NIDCD to support research grants that could lead to less expensive hearing aids, so such aids could become accessible and affordable to more people." As the lead federal agency promoting the nation’s hearing healthcare, NIDCD is actively seeking to address accessibility from the public health perspective. Aside from cost, one of the primary barriers to hearing aid adoption remains sound quality, and the sense that hearing aids are still not quite able to meet all the needs of hearing impaired consumers. Creare and its collaborators at Boys Town National Research Hospital (BTNRH) plan to develop and disseminate an open-source audio processing platform to spur innovation in Hearing Aid (HA) research. The result of this effort will be a user-friendly, portable, upgradable and wearable “master hearing aid” (MHA) that will allow collaborative development and the open exchange of new processing algorithms within the broader hearing research community, including both academia and industry. The hardware used in the MHA has an open, published design architecture, using components currently available on the electronics market. We envision three levels of users: (1) “expert” users implement and test new algorithms directly in firmware through an interface that gives them access to the basic features of the hardware (audio input and output, power management, housekeeping, etc.); (2) “developers” users interact at the software application programming interface (API) level to modify parameters of the algorithms already implemented in firmware and evaluate their performance in a variety of conditions; and (3) “professional” users have access to “pre-programmed” algorithms with some degree of parameter control through a simple user interface, to test the relative benefits of amplification variants available with the wearable master hearing aid.