Systems and methods for providing a pre-stimulation visual cue representative of a cochlear implant stimulation level

• US 8,700,168 B1
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Advanced Bionics AG (Sonova Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Bionics AG (Sonova Holding AG)
• Inventors: Johnston, Jacob, Calle, Guillermo A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gedeon, Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): TEJANI, ANKIT D
• Application Number:
  US12/847,193
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 607/57
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0541 Cochlear electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36038 Cochlear stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37247 User interfaces, e.g. input or presentation means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/606 acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting

Abstract

An exemplary method of providing a pre-stimulation visual cue representative of a cochlear implant stimulation level includes a fitting subsystem 1) determining one or more control parameters to be used by a cochlear implant system to apply electrical stimulation to a patient, 2) determining, based on the one or more control parameters, a target stimulation level to be used by the cochlear implant system to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient, and 3) displaying a pre-stimulation visual cue indicative of the determined target stimulation level in a graphical user interface prior to the cochlear implant system using the one or more control parameters to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient. Corresponding methods and systems are also described.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a fitting subsystem communicatively coupled to a cochlear implant system, one or more control parameters to be used by the cochlear implant system to apply electrical stimulation to a patient;

determining, by the fitting subsystem based on the one or more control parameters, a target stimulation level to be used by the cochlear implant system to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient; and

displaying, by the fitting subsystem, a pre-stimulation visual cue indicative of the determined target stimulation level in a graphical user interface prior to the cochlear implant system using the one or more control parameters to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined target stimulation level represents a most-comfortable loudness level for the electrical stimulation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined target stimulation level is associated with a stimulation channel of the cochlear implant system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the fitting subsystem, an additional target stimulation level based on the one or more control parameters; and

displaying, by the fitting subsystem, an additional pre-stimulation visual cue indicative of the determined additional target stimulation level together with the pre-stimulation visual cue in the graphical user interface prior to the cochlear implant system using the one or more control parameters to apply the stimulation to the patient;

wherein the target stimulation level is associated with a stimulation channel of the cochlear implant system and the additional target stimulation level is associated with an additional stimulation channel of the cochlear implant system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more control parameters comprise at least one of a most-comfortable level, a threshold level, and a clipping level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more control parameters comprise an operational mode of the fitting subsystem.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the operational mode of the fitting subsystem comprises one of a live speech mode, a speech burst mode, and a tone burst mode of the fitting subsystem.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-stimulation visual cue comprises a vertical bar graphical object within a stimulation level chart in the graphical user interface.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the vertical bar graphical object is semi-transparent.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the fitting subsystem, a user input command to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient;

directing, by the fitting subsystem, the cochlear implant system to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient in accordance with the one or more control parameters; and

displaying, by the fitting subsystem in the graphical user interface, a stimulation visual cue indicative of an actual stimulation level at which the cochlear implant system applies the electrical stimulation to the patient in accordance with the one or more control parameters.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the pre-stimulation visual cue comprises a semi-transparent vertical bar graphical object within a stimulation level chart in the graphical user interface; and

the stimulation visual cue comprises an opaque vertical bar graphical object within the stimulation level chart in the graphical user interface.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the opaque vertical bar graphical object overlays the semi-transparent vertical bar graphical object in the graphical user interface during the application of the electrical stimulation to the patient.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the determined target stimulation level and the actual stimulation level are equivalent; and

the semi-transparent vertical bar graphical object and the opaque vertical bar graphical object graphically indicate the equivalence.

14. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

15. A method comprising:

determining, by a fitting subsystem based on one or more control parameters, a target stimulation level to be used by a cochlear implant system communicatively coupled to the fitting subsystem to apply electrical stimulation to a patient in accordance with a cochlear implant fitting procedure; and

displaying, by the fitting subsystem, a pre-stimulation visual cue indicative of the determined target stimulation level in a stimulation chart in a graphical user interface prior to the cochlear implant system using the one or more control parameters to apply the electrical stimulation to the patient in accordance with the cochlear implant fitting procedure.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, by the fitting subsystem, a user input command to initiate an actual application of the electrical stimulation to the patient;

executing, by the fitting subsystem in response to the user input command, the cochlear implant fitting procedure to direct the cochlear implant system to apply the electrical stimulation to the cochlea of the patient based on the one or more control parameters; and

displaying, by the fitting subsystem in the graphical user interface, a stimulation visual cue indicative of an actual stimulation level at which the cochlear implant system applies the electrical stimulation to the patient based on the one or more control parameters.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the pre-stimulation visual cue comprises a semi-transparent vertical bar graphical object within the stimulation level chart in the graphical user interface; and

the stimulation visual cue comprises an opaque vertical bar graphical object overlaying the semi-transparent vertical bar graphical object within the stimulation level chart in the graphical user interface.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

displaying, by the fitting subsystem, at least one of a user-controllable most-comfortable loudness level graphical object, a user-controllable threshold loudness level graphical object, and a user-controllable clipping loudness level graphical object together with the pre-stimulation visual cue in the stimulation chart in the graphical user interface.

19. The method of claim 15, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.