METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MATHEMATICALLY CHARACTERIZING EAR CANAL GEOMETRY
First Claim
1. An apparatus for mathematically characterizing a person'"'"'s ear canal, the apparatus comprising:
- an expandable balloon for positioning in the ear canal, the balloon including a hollow interior channel;
a flexible catheter extending through the interior portion of the balloon, the flexible catheter including a track;
a platform movably coupled to the track;
a ultrasonic transducer coupled to the platform; and
a processor adapted to characterize geometry of the ear canal from information from the ultrasonic transducer obtained from scans of the ear canal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present subject matter provides apparatus and methods for physically fitting a hearing assistance device, including mathematically characterizing a person'"'"'s ear canal. The apparatus includes an expandable balloon for positioning in the ear canal, the balloon including a hollow interior channel. A flexible catheter extends through the interior portion of the balloon, and the flexible catheter includes a track. A platform is movably coupled to the track. An ultrasonic transducer and a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor are coupled to the platform. The ultrasonic transducer scans the ear canal and the MEMS sensor senses motion and position of the transducer. According to various embodiments, a mathematical representation of the ear canal is adapted to be computed using information from the transducer and sensor.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for mathematically characterizing a person'"'"'s ear canal, the apparatus comprising:
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an expandable balloon for positioning in the ear canal, the balloon including a hollow interior channel; a flexible catheter extending through the interior portion of the balloon, the flexible catheter including a track; a platform movably coupled to the track; a ultrasonic transducer coupled to the platform; and a processor adapted to characterize geometry of the ear canal from information from the ultrasonic transducer obtained from scans of the ear canal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for mathematically characterizing a person'"'"'s ear canal, the method comprising:
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positioning a pre-formed expandable balloon in the ear canal, the balloon including a hollow central channel; expanding the balloon to fit the person'"'"'s ear canal snugly; scanning the ear canal using an ultrasonic transducer probe, the probe fixed to a movable platform along a track contained within the channel; sensing motion and position of the transducer probe using a sensor, the sensor fixed to the movable platform; and using information from the ultrasonic transducer probe and sensor to compute a mathematical representation of the ear canal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification