Assessing responses to sensory events and performing treatment actions based thereon
Inventors
Zygorodimos, Matthew • Davies, James • Wadhwani, Rishi
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12220582-B2
Publication Date
2025-02-11
Expiration Date
Abstract
Examples disclosed herein are relevant to monitoring and treating sensory conditions affecting an individual. Sensors and intelligence integrated within a sensory prosthesis (e.g., an auditory prosthesis) can automatically obtain objective data regarding the ability of one or more of an individuals senses during day-to-day activities. A treatment action can be taken based on the objective data. Further disclosed herein are techniques relating to reducing the gathering of irrelevant sensory input and automatically transmitting relevant data to a caregiver device.
Core Innovation
The invention is directed to a hearing device that includes an implantable or wearable housing, a stimulator configured to impart energy to tissue to evoke a hearing percept, and a plurality of sensors. A processor receives event sensor data from the plurality of sensors to determine an occurrence of an auditory event proximate to the hearing device.
The processor further determines a vocal response by the recipient to the occurrence of the auditory event using response sensor data, and characterizes the vocal response using the response sensor data. The processor initiates a treatment action relating to the recipient based on characterizing the vocal response.
The disclosed approach includes classifying the auditory event as a relevant sensory/auditory event or an irrelevant sensory/auditory event, where detecting the recipient’s response is performed responsive to the auditory event being classified as relevant. The system can support monitored and unmonitored operating modes to manage storage and wireless transmission of analysis to a caregiver device, with event/response characterization metrics and trends used to guide rehabilitation/therapy updates.
Claims Coverage
The patent provides two independent claims, a hearing device system claim and a method claim. Across these claims, the inventive features cover a stimulator-evoked hearing percept architecture with event sensing and response sensing, auditory-event occurrence determination, vocal response detection and characterization, treatment action initiation based on characterization, and event relevance classification as a gating condition in the method claim.
Hearing device with stimulator-evoked hearing percept and multi-sensor processing
A hearing device comprising an implantable or wearable housing, a stimulator configured to impart energy to tissue to evoke a hearing percept, a plurality of sensors, and a processor configured to receive event sensor data from the plurality of sensors and determine an occurrence of an auditory event proximate to the hearing device.
Vocal response characterization and treatment action initiation from response sensor data
A processor configured to determine a vocal response by the recipient to the occurrence of the auditory event using response sensor data, characterize the vocal response using the response sensor data, and initiate a treatment action relating to the recipient based on characterizing the vocal response.
Method using multi-sensor event detection and relevance classification gate
A method comprising receiving sensor data from a plurality of sensors proximate a recipient of a hearing device, determining an occurrence of an auditory event proximate the hearing device using the sensor data, and classifying the auditory event as a relevant auditory event or an irrelevant auditory event.
Conditional vocal response detection, characterization, and treatment action initiation
Responsive to the auditory event being a relevant auditory event, detecting a vocal response by the recipient to the occurrence of the auditory event using the response sensor data, characterizing the vocal response by the recipient using the response sensor data, and initiating a treatment action relating to the recipient based on the characterizing.
Overall claim coverage centers on sensing and characterizing a recipient’s vocal response to a proximate auditory event and initiating a treatment action based on that characterization, with the method claim additionally requiring classification of auditory events into relevant versus irrelevant and detecting the vocal response only for relevant auditory events.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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