Systems and methods for using an evoked response to determine a behavioral audiogram value

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10639475-B2
Application number	US-201616080367-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 29, 2016
Priority date	Feb 29, 2016
Publication date	May 5, 2020
Grant date	May 5, 2020

Abstract

An exemplary behavioral audiogram generation system 1) determines a noise floor within the cochlea of a patient, 2) presents, by way of a loudspeaker, acoustic stimulation having a predetermined frequency and a predetermined amplitude to the patient, 3) detects an evoked response that occurs in response to the acoustic stimulation, 4) determines an amplitude of the evoked response that occurs in response to the acoustic stimulation, and 5) determines, based on the amplitude of the evoked response, on the predetermined amplitude of the acoustic stimulation, and on the noise floor, a behavioral audiogram value for the patient that corresponds to the predetermined frequency.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
at least one physical computing device that
determines a noise floor within a cochlea of a patient;
presents, by way of a loudspeaker, acoustic stimulation having a predetermined frequency and a predetermined amplitude to the patient;
detects an evoked response that occurs in response to the acoustic stimulation;
determines an amplitude of the evoked response that occurs in response to the acoustic stimulation; and
determines, based on the amplitude of the evoked response, on the predetermined amplitude of the acoustic stimulation, and on the noise floor, a behavioral audiogram value for the patient and that corresponds to the predetermined frequency, the behavioral audiogram value representing a lowest amplitude at which the patient is able to detect a presentation of a tone having the predetermined frequency.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device further generates, based on the behavioral audiogram value, a behavioral audiogram for the patient.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device further:
detects at least one additional evoked response that occurs in response to the acoustic stimulation; and
adjusts, based on an average signal-to-noise ratio of the detected evoked response and the detected at least one additional evoked response, the determined noise floor.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device comprises a sound processor included in an electro-acoustic stimulation (“EAS”) system, wherein the sound processor is physically and communicatively coupled to the loudspeaker, and wherein the sound processor:
presents the acoustic stimulation by way of the loudspeaker that is physically and communicatively coupled to the sound processor; and
detects the evoked response that occurs in response to the presented acoustic stimulation by wirelessly receiving a signal representative of the evoked response by way of a cochlear implant included in the EAS system.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device comprises a programming device that is communicatively coupled to a sound processor included in a cochlear implant system associated with the patient and that is physically and communicatively coupled to the loudspeaker, and wherein the programming device:
presents the acoustic stimulation by way of the loudspeaker that is physically and communicatively coupled to the programming device, and
detects the evoked response that occurs in response to the presented acoustic stimulation by receiving a signal representative of the evoked response from the sound processor.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device determines the noise floor by:
abstaining from presenting any acoustic stimulation to the patient for a predetermined time period;
using an electrode implanted within the patient to record a signal while the at least one physical computing device abstains from presenting any acoustic stimulation during the predetermined time period;
determining an amplitude of the recorded signal; and
designating the determined amplitude of the recorded signal as the noise floor.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device determines the noise floor by receiving data representative of the noise floor from a source external to the at least one physical computing device.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device determines the behavioral audiogram value by:
using a linear approximation heuristic to identify a first point, in a graph of evoked response amplitudes versus acoustic stimulation amplitudes, where a first line intersects a second line representative of the noise floor; and
designating a value corresponding to the identified first point as the behavioral audiogram value.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first line also intersects a second point representative of the amplitude of the evoked response at the predetermined amplitude of the acoustic stimulation.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the at least one physical computing device defines the first line in accordance with the second point and a predetermined slope.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one physical computing device receives data representative of the predetermined slope from a source external to the at least one physical computing device.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one physical computing device defines the first line by:
identifying a second point representative of the amplitude of the evoked response at the predetermined amplitude of the acoustic stimulation;
presenting, by way of the loudspeaker, an additional acoustic stimulation having the predetermined frequency and an additional predetermined amplitude to the patient;
detecting an additional evoked response that occurs in response to the additional acoustic stimulation;
determining an additional amplitude of the additional evoked response that occurs in response to the additional acoustic stimulation; and
assigning a slope to the first line that causes the first line to intersect both the second point and a third point representative of the additional amplitude of the additional evoked response at the additional predetermined amplitude of the additional acoustic stimulation.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one physical computing device defines the first line by:
identifying a second point representative of the amplitude of the evoked response at the predetermined amplitude of the acoustic stimulation;
presenting, by way of the loudspeaker, at least two additional acoustic stimulations having the predetermined frequency and at least two additional predetermined amplitudes to the patient;
detecting at least two additional evoked responses that occur in response to the at least two additional acoustic stimulations;
determining at least two additional amplitudes of the at least two additional evoked responses that occur in response to the at least two additional acoustic stimulations;
determining a line of best fit among the second point and at least two additional points representative of the at least two additional amplitudes of the at least two additional evoked responses at the at least two predetermined amplitudes of the at least two additional acoustic stimulations; and
designating the determined line as the first line.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device further:
presents, by way of the loudspeaker, a second acoustic stimulation having a second predetermined frequency and a second predetermined amplitude to the patient;
detects a second evoked response that occurs in response to the second acoustic stimulation;
determines a second amplitude of the second evoked response that occurs in response to the second acoustic stimulation; and
determines, based on the second amplitude of the second evoked response, on the second predetermined amplitude of the second acoustic stimulation, and on the noise floor, a second behavioral audiogram value for the patient and that corresponds to the second predetermined frequency.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one physical computing device further:
presents, by way of the loudspeaker, concurrently with the presentation of the acoustic stimulation, a second acoustic stimulation having a second predetermined frequency and the predetermined amplitude to the patient;
detects, concurrently with the detection of the evok

Assignees

• Koka Kanthaiah
• Litvak Leonid M
• Advanced Bionics Ag

Inventors

• Koka Kanthaiah
• Litvak Leonid M

Classifications

• A61N1/36036

  of the outer, middle or inner ear · CPC title

• A61N1/08

  Arrangements or circuits for monitoring, protecting, controlling or indicating {(for external stimulators A61N1/3603; for implantable neurostimulators A61N1/36128; for heart stimulators A61N1/37; for defibrillators A61N1/3925)} · CPC title

• A61N1/0541

  Cochlear electrodes · CPC title

• H04R3/00

  Circuits for transducers (arrangements for producing a reverberation or echo sound G10K15/08; amplifiers H03F) · CPC title

• A61N1/36038 Primary

  Cochlear stimulation · CPC title