Microphone natural speech capture voice dictation system and method

• US 9,980,033 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2016
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Original Assignee: Bragi GmbH
• Inventors: Boesen, Peter Vincent
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhang, Leshui
• Application Number:
  US15/383,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20170180842A1
• Time in Patent Office: 519 Days
• Field of Search: 381 74, 381 26, 381312-331, 381 92, 381 54, 381 57, 700 94, 704270, 7042701, 704271, 704272, 704275, 704276, 704277, 704278, 379 9317, 379158, 37920201, 37920501
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/227 of the speaker; Human-factor methodology
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/08 Mouthpieces; Microphones; Attachments therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/0335 Earpiece support, e.g. headbands or neckrests for monophonic headphones H04R1/105

Abstract

A system for voice dictation includes an earpiece, the earpiece may include an earpiece housing sized to fit into an external auditory canal of a user and block the external auditory canal, a first microphone operatively connected to the earpiece housing and positioned to be isolated from ambient sound when the earpiece housing is fitted into the external auditory canal, a second microphone operatively connected to earpiece housing and positioned to sound external from the user, and a processor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the first microphone and the second microphone. The system may further include a software application executing on a computing device which provides for receiving the first voice audio stream into a first position of a record and receiving the second voice audio stream into a second position of the record.

Claims

1. A system for voice dictation, the system comprising:

an earpiece, the earpiece comprising;

an earpiece housing sized to fit into an external auditory canal of a user and block the external auditory canal;

a first microphone operatively connected to the earpiece housing and positioned to be isolated from ambient sound when the earpiece housing is fitted into the external auditory canal;

a second microphone operatively connected to earpiece housing and positioned to detect sound external from the user;

a processor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the first microphone and the second microphone, wherein the processor is adapted to capture a first voice audio stream using at least the first microphone, the first voice audio stream associated with the user, and a second voice audio stream using at least the second microphone, the second voice audio stream associated with a person other than the user;

an inertial sensor comprising an accelerometer and a gyroscope, the inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor; and

a software application executing on a computing device which provides for receiving the first voice audio stream into a first position of a record and receiving the second voice audio stream into a second position of the record, wherein the software application further provides for receiving contextual data from the inertial sensor and receiving the contextual data into a third position of the record.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the record is a medical record, the user is a health care provider and the person other than the user is a patient.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the software application provides for converting the first voice audio stream into a first audio file, storing the first audio file, converting the first voice audio stream into first text and placing both the first text and a first link to the first audio file at the first position of the record.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the software application provides for converting the second voice audio stream into a second audio file, storing the second audio file, converting the second voice audio stream into second text and placing both the second text and a second link to the second audio file at the second position of the record.

5. A method for voice dictation, the method comprising:

providing an earpiece, the earpiece comprising;

an earpiece housing sized to fit into an external auditory canal of a user and block the external auditory canal;

a first microphone positioned to be isolated from ambient sound when the earpiece housing is fitted into the external auditory canal;

a second microphone positioned to receive sound external from the user;

a processor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the first microphone and the second microphone; and

an inertial sensor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the processor;

capturing a first voice audio stream using at least the first microphone, the first voice audio stream associated with the user;

capturing inertial sensor data with the inertial sensor and interpreting the inertial sensor data into contextual data;

storing the first voice audio stream on a machine readable storage medium;

converting the first voice audio stream to first text;

placing the first text within a first form field in a software application; and

providing access to the first voice audio stream and the contextual data through the software application.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first microphone is a bone microphone.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

capturing a second voice audio stream using the second microphone, the second voice audio stream associated with a person other than the user;

storing the second voice audio stream on a machine readable storage medium;

converting the second voice audio stream to second text;

placing the second text of the second voice audio stream within a second form field in the software application; and

providing access to the second voice audio stream through the software application.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the software application is a medical records software application.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the user is a health care provider and wherein the person other than the user is a patient of the health care provider.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the voice dictation is performed during a patient encounter to document the patient encounter.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising receiving a correction of the first text from the user and updating the first form field with corrected text.

12. The method of claim 5 further comprising capturing a second voice audio stream at a wireless transceiver operatively connected to the earpiece housing and the processor.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising converting the second voice audio stream to second text.

14. The method of claim 5 further comprising capturing sensor data with the earpiece and interpreting the sensor data into text data and placing the text data into a field within the software application.