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

提出的研究计划的目标是推进人类耳道变形领域的最新知识，这些变形是由进食和说话活动中下颌关节运动引起的。这些知识将有助于开发微型入耳式微能量采集器，能够将这种机械能转化为各种电子入耳式可穿戴设备（包括助听器）的电力来源。******为了实现这一目标，将进行四个相互关联的研究项目，涉及2名硕士生（MS）和2名博士生（PhD），以：A)量化耳道变形每天产生的典型机械能，b)研究耳道变形并确定配备定制耳机的人耳道的应力-应变特性，c)建立耳道、入耳装置和嵌入式微能量采集器之间的力学耦合模型，d)开发适合每个耳道形态的微能量采集器个性化设计的参数化模型。******拟议的研究计划将提供有关人类耳道静态和动态变形的独特知识。从舒适的生物医学耳内装置（听力保护器、助听器、通信耳机等）的机械设计到颞下颌关节紊乱（TMJ）的治疗，这些知识对各个医学研究领域都有很大的意义，而适当的耳道变形模型是治疗颞下颌关节紊乱的关键。******研究项目的结果也将对入耳式微能量采集器的设计有明显的好处。这种技术可以使我们的加拿大工业合作伙伴EERS Technologies 4.0 Inc.受益，为其自己的电子听力保护和噪声通信耳机产品线提供动力，目前正在由申请人持有的NSERC-EERS入耳技术工业研究主席开发。最后，将所得到的技术授权给助听器制造商可能最终导致自供电助听器的发展，这将极大地缓解目前每周不得不更换助听器电池的3亿用户的压力。

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.