Surgery – Truss – Pad
Patent
1979-10-10
1983-02-22
Howell, Kyle L.
Surgery
Truss
Pad
73585, 179 1N, A61B 512
Patent
active
043745261
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention concerns hearing faculty testing and apparatus therefor.
Quantitative information on the state of the ear can at present be obtained for medical purposes using audiometric tests or through electrophysiological examination. However, these techniques do not fully meet the requirements of the clinician for the early detection, assessment and monitoring of hearing disorders. Difficulties arise with the presently available techniques mentioned above because the first kind demand a high degree of concentration and co-operation from the subject under test, and the second kind ideally involves invasive surgery and, on occasion, sedation. These difficulties are most evident when the subject is a young child.
The present invention improves this situation by making available a further technique which does not suffer from the above difficulties. The invention has arisen from the finding, contrary to present understanding, that the healthy human ear emits a detectable echo in response to receipt of a transient sound and that the echo is related to the characteristics of the sound and the conditions inside the ear. It is to be understood that this echo involves a further movement of the ear drum after the initial movement thereof caused directly by the incident sound pressure variation has decayed to zero relative to currently available detection techniques. Moreover, the echo is sufficiently delayed relative to its causative sound and the associated direct response to allow separation by electronic time-gating, and the echo is considered to be related more specifically to the characteristics of the inner ear and to deteriorate therewith.
Accordingly, in a more general form thereof, the present invention provides hearing faculty testing apparatus comprising means for applying a sound to a subject's ear, and means for detecting the wave returned from the inner ear in response to said sound. The applied sound will normally be of a transient form, but this is not essential since any sound will produce a returned wave. Also, detection of the returned wave will normally be by way of the echo produced thereby, but this is not essential insofar as it is possible to detect the associated movement of the ear drum.
In a more particular form the invention provides hearing faculty testing apparatus comprising an aural probe for insertion in a subject's external ear canal, electroacoustic transducer means mounted in said probe for projecting sound into said canal and responding to an echo produced by said sound in said canal, means for repeatedly activating said transducer means to generate a sequence of transient sounds, time-gating means responsive to both said activating means and said transducer means for detecting signals representing the echoes produced by said sound, analyser means responsive to said detecting means for processing said detected signals at least by averaging a sequence thereof, and display and/or recording means responsive to said processing means.
In order that the invention may be better understood, the same will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing which schematically illustrates one form of the invention as developed so far.
The illustrated form of the invention is of the more particular form mentioned above and comprises an aural probe 1 to interface with a patient by location in his external ear canal. This probe is formed to penetrate and effect an air tight seal with the canal and, for this purpose in routine clinical use, a range of shapes and sizes will be necessary to allow for the natural variation between the ears of different patients. Conveniently, use may be made of a range of disposable tips engageable with a common probe base for this last purpose.
Since the probe is to seal with the canal, it may be appropriate to provide a closable air passageway through the probe whereby the pressures about the ear drum can be equalised after location of the probe and before operation of the apparatus.
The probe carries two electroacoustic transducers
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patent: 3395697 (1968-10-01), Mendleson
patent: 3757769 (1973-09-01), Arguimbau et al.
patent: 3882848 (1975-05-01), Klar et al.
patent: 3949735 (1976-04-01), Klar
patent: 4002161 (1977-01-01), Klar et al.
patent: 4009707 (1977-03-01), Ward
patent: 4057051 (1977-11-01), Kerouac
patent: 4079198 (1978-03-01), Bennett
Hanley John C.
Howell Kyle L.
National Research Development Corporation
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