US 11,857,312 B2
Hearing assessment system and method
Colette McKay, East Melbourne (AU); Hamish Innes-Brown, East Melbourne (AU); Mehrnaz Shoushtarian, East Melbourne (AU); and Stefan Weder, St. Brunswick (AU)
Assigned to THE BIONICS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, East Melbourne (AU)
Appl. No. 16/630,173
Filed by THE BIONICS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, East Melbourne (AU)
PCT Filed Jul. 13, 2018, PCT No. PCT/AU2018/050726
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 10, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/010540, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 17, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2017902753 (AU), filed on Jul. 13, 2017; and application No. 2018901572 (AU), filed on May 9, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0205699 A1, Jul. 2, 2020
Int. Cl. A61B 5/12 (2006.01); A61B 5/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/0205 (2006.01); A61B 5/1455 (2006.01); A61B 5/38 (2021.01); A61B 5/372 (2021.01); A61B 5/346 (2021.01); A61B 5/021 (2006.01); A61B 5/024 (2006.01); A61B 5/08 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 5/125 (2013.01) [A61B 5/0075 (2013.01); A61B 5/0205 (2013.01); A61B 5/14553 (2013.01); A61B 5/346 (2021.01); A61B 5/372 (2021.01); A61B 5/38 (2021.01); A61B 5/6803 (2013.01); A61B 5/6844 (2013.01); A61B 5/7207 (2013.01); A61B 5/7235 (2013.01); A61B 5/7278 (2013.01); A61B 5/021 (2013.01); A61B 5/02416 (2013.01); A61B 5/0816 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of assessing the hearing of a patient using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the method comprising:
determining parameters of aural stimulation to be delivered to the patient, the parameters including a first intensity;
delivering to the patient the aural stimulation having the first intensity;
receiving at least one response signal from an optode placed on a scalp of the patient, the at least one response signal comprising fNIRS data generated by the optode and relating to the aural stimulation received by the patient;
comparing at least one parameter of the at least one response signal to a predetermined parameter value;
estimating, based on the result of the comparison and to assess the hearing of the patient, a loudness perceived by the patient experiencing the aural stimulation;
determining new parameters of aural stimulation to be delivered to the patient, the new parameters including a second intensity that is different from the first intensity;
delivering to the patient further aural stimulation having the second intensity; and
repeating the steps of receiving at least one response signal from an optode, comparing at least one parameter of the at least one response signal to a predetermined parameter value, and estimating a loudness perceived by the patient experiencing the aural stimulation.