Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
,' ' CA 02399929 2002-08-12
1
WO 00/22874 PCT/CH00/00091
Fitting system
The present invention relates to a fitting system for the
adjustment of a hearing device to the needs of an
individual and comprising an adjuster unit with input
device, which can be operatively connected by a line
and/or wireless connection to a setting control input on
the hearing device.
Since the introduction of programmable, digital hearing
devices, computers, especially PCs, have - in addition to
special, computer-aided fitting devices - assumed a
dominant role as adjustment or fitting platforms for
adjusting hearing devices to individual requirements.
Such devices are operatively connected through a wireless
or line connection to a setting control input on the
hearing device, usually adjusted in situ, by means of
known communications software. During the fitting or
adjustment procedure, the signal transmission to the
hearing device - between acoustic/electrical transducer
on the input side and electrical/mechanical transducer on
the output side - is modified on the basis of setting
control signals to the aforementioned control input. This
is generally done in accordance with hearing tests with
or without hearing device and subjective hearing
impressions on the part of the individual. The usually
complex correlations between simple, subjective hearing
impressions on the part of the individual and the
adjustment of parameters on the hearing device signal
transmission are usually compiled by a program on the
adjuster device. An optimum, individual adjustment of
digital hearing devices therefore makes it virtually
essential to consult a specialist, who has the
correspondingly programmed adjustment devices and who
CA 02399929 2002-08-12
2
through careful training is familiar with the complex
operation and function of such devices.
This procedure, virtually indispensable with modern
hearing devices, excludes large groups of people all over
the world from using such hearing device technology,
since in many places the infrastructure necessary for
optimum adjustment is lacking with regard both to the
devices and the necessary operating environments, and the
training of specialists. For this reason the facility
for adjusting hearing devices by means of trimmer and
screwdriver is still widely preferred.
If the adjustment of hearing devices to the particular
individual is limited to the latter procedure, however,
the range of hearing devices that can be used for this
purpose is limited, particularly when it comes to modern,
digital hearing devices. Even if, in terms of hardware,
a number of trimming facilities necessary for tuning are
provided on such hearing devices and are of clearly
identifiable design, this gives rise to high additional
design costs for the hearing device and the mechanically
moving parts lead to an increased susceptibility to
malfunction, quite apart from the fact that it is
scarcely possible to undertake the complex and
interdependent parameter adjustment sometimes necessary
for optimal hearing aids.
The object of the present invention is to solve this
problem and to create a facility for also ensuring the
widest possible distribution of modern hearing devices.
For this purpose, a fitting system of the aforementioned
type is proposed, in which the input device is a mobile
telephone. This approach proceeds primarily from the
insight that, in contrast to PCs or other fitting-
. ~ CA 02399929 2002-08-12
3
specific equipment, mobile telephones are common all over
the world and their operation is increasingly a part of
everyday life. The widespread use of mobile telephones
and the routine nature of their operation and menu
control mean that the stated object is even achieved to
the extent that the hearing device adjustment can, if
necessary, be undertaken by the individuals themselves,
especially where the corresponding on-line support for
the mobile telephone is available, as is yet to be
explained.
In a preferred embodiment of the fitting system according
to the invention, the operative connection between mobile
telephone and hearing device is achieved by way of a
converter. This connection between mobile telephone on
the one hand and converter on the other is achieved via
an HF connection of the mobile telephone and/or via an
infrared connection and/or via an acoustic. connection.
Between the converter and the hearing device, on the
other hand, the said communications connection is via a
line and/or wireless connection.
In this case a wireless communications connection between
converter and hearing device may be acoustic or, if
necessary, via a high-frequency connection adequate for
the hearing device or via an IR connection. However, an
acoustic communications connection may, where necessary,
also be provided directly between mobile telephone and
hearing device, without the intermediate connection of a
converter.
The converter is furthermore preferably designed as an
independent unit or is integrated into the hearing device
or into the mobile telephone.
CA 02399929 2002-08-12
4
In a preferred embodiment, the mobile telephone used
according to the invention is designed for communication
with a communications network, preferably with the
Internet and/or an Intranet. This creates the facility
for fully exploiting the possibilities afforded by such
networks including E-commerce, that is electronic
ordering and electronic purchasing, not only for the
hearing device adjustment, but also for the software
configuration of the hearing device itself and for
respective updates.
Due to the fact that the fitting system according to the
invention further comprises a server and the mobile
telephone is designed for communication with this server,
and that at least one of the following types of data,
V1Z.:
~ fitting programs
~ hearing device software
~ updates for fitting programs and/or hearing device
software
is transmitted between server and mobile telephone, the
procedure according to the invention means that fitting
programs, not necessarily memory-resident, can be used in
the latest version from the mobile telephone and/or that
the program configuration on the hearing device and
updating of these programs can be inexpensively
implemented. Whereas in the first case, that is the
downloading of fitting programs from a server, these are
filed in the mobile telephone, if only during the fitting
procedure, and are used therefrom for the hearing device
adjustment, in the second aforementioned case, that is
the downloading of hearing device programs, the mobile
telephone is only used as manual control panel and as
transit station, where necessary together with said
CA 02399929 2002-08-12
converter, in order to transmit hearing device software
supplied by the server finally to the hearing device.
In a further embodiment, in which the system according to
5 the invention again comprises a server and the mobile
telephone is designed for communication with this server,
the following data are transmitted between them:
~ hearing device-individual data from the mobile
telephone to the server and/or
~ hearing device-individual control data from the server
to the mobile telephone.
The facility is thereby created for filing the current
settings of the individual hearing device on the server
and handily storing updates and setting history thereof,
so that, with a view to optimizing the subjective hearing
impressions, the individual can transmit individual
subjective hearing data to the server via the mobile
telephone, and at the server can make modifications and
adjustments directly to the hearing device via the mobile
telephone, taking into account the subjective hearing
data, the individual hearing device history and current
settings of the hearing device. In this procedure the
expert optimization of settings for the individual
hearing device is shifted to the server, which is
operated, for example, by a hearing device company or a
group of hearing device companies.
As already mentioned, financial settlement for such
additional services can be effected in the usual ways for
E-commerce, whether this is done by subscription or by a
specific single order and payment.
According to the present invention, the mobile telephone,
released from its actual telephone function, can
CA 02399929 2002-08-12
6
therefore be used virtually in a minimal form on the
fitting system according to the invention, as an
electronic screwdriver, so to speak. A communications
connection is established with the hearing device(s),
preferably via said converter, and the mobile telephone,
menu-driven, is switched by manual input and/or speech
input to a hearing device adjustment mode. An individual
wearing the hearing device himself or a specialist then
adjusts transmission parameters on the hearing device by
~0 operating the input. Whether a specialist has to be
employed for this purpose or whether the individual can
perform these operations himself, largely depends on to
what extent the adjustment or fitting program implemented
on the hearing device is capable of converting simple
subjective hearing inputs into complex parameter
adjustment correlations for the hearing device.
It is proposed, particularly where it is the intention
that the individual himself should be capable of making
the adjustment or an adjustment to the hearing device,
that it be possible to reset adjustments made to the
hearing device to standard settings through simple manual
input on the mobile telephone, whether such standard
settings are settings that have been defined as such and
preset by specialists, or settings undertaken at the
factory. As stated, it is quite possible through
appropriate programming of the hearing device to convert
subjective hearing impressions of the individual defined
through straight forward input on the hearing device into
complex multi-parameter hearing device adjustments and to
transmit these to the hearing device.
In a further development of the fitting system according
to the invention it is also possible to have company-
specific (Intranet), sector-specific (Intranet) or global
e' CA 02399929 2002-08-12
7
(Internet) access to data banks and computational
services.
If these facilities are employed from the mobile
telephone used according to the invention, the mobile
telephone used according to the invention becomes ever
further distanced from its function as electronic
screwdriver and ultimately at this point becomes the
interface between different transmissions, such as
transmission protocols, and becomes the input keypad for
the initiation of a server-hearing device connection.
It should be emphasized at this juncture that when
speaking in this description and in the claims of a
mobile telephone used according to the invention this
includes telephones which, in addition to the actual
mobile telephone function, also have other functions, as
is becoming increasingly familiar, for example, from
digital agendas, DPA etc.
A server forming part of the fitting system according to
the invention can therefore not only provide information
specific to a type of hearing device via the mobile
telephone - the individual hearing device adjustments
then continuing to be made through operation of the
mobile telephone - but can also store on this server
identification variables, which in addition to the type
of hearing device also contain the individually adjusted
parameters, the "settings history" of the hearing
devices) already mentioned. On calling and
identification via the mobile telephone and the
communication of outstanding subjective hearing
deficiencies, this server can then, on the basis of the
parameter constellation currently filed on the server
and, where necessary, the previous history of reported
subjective hearing deficiencies and the parameter changes
CA 02399929 2002-08-12
8
made, transmit a further optimization of the hearing
device setting to the hearing device via mobile
telephone. It is then possible both to retrieve
information specific to the type of hearing device for
actuation of the telephone computer unit, or to transfer
the computational capacity from the mobile telephone to
the server and, as stated, to actually use the mobile
telephone more as input and transit station between
hearing device on the one hand and server on the other.
It will be appreciated that in this case the hearing
device setting will very largely depend on who is making
the settings and even more on how the individual wearing
the hearing device perceives the hearing impressions.
The invention will now be explained with reference to
examples in the figures, of which
Fig. 1 in the form of a simplified block diagram shows a
first actual variant of a fitting system
according to the invention,
Fig. 2 in the form of a simplified signal flow/block
diagram shows a preferred embodiment of the
invention according to figure 1,
Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the concept of a
fitting system according to the invention with
server-support.
Figure 1 shows a diagram of a hearing device 1, with
acoustic/electrical transducer 3 on the input side,
digital signal transmission line 5 and electromechanical
transducer 7 on the output side. Basic adjustment of the
hearing device may initially be undertaken ex situ, for
example in the laboratory on the basis of diagnostic
°
, CA 02399929 2002-08-12
9
data, the fine adjustment, however, being undertaken in
situ, that is to say on the individual.
The hearing device has an input ES. Signals on this input
ES modify transmission parameters on the digital
transmission line 5. The input ES is in direct or indirect
communications connection K with an output AT of a mobile
telephone 9. The connection K can be effected in various
ways, possibly via the antenna 11 of the mobile telephone
9 or via a unit or interface converting high-frequency
signals into digital control signals for the hearing
device, via infrared link with corresponding interfaces,
by line connection - optically or electrically - or
acoustically. In any event, the corresponding interfaces
are provided on the hearing device or on the mobile
telephone depending on the connection variant.
In a preferred design variant according to figure 2, the
communication K is between the mobile telephone 9 and the
hearing device 1 but is achieved via a CODEC 13
converter, preferably as a separate unit acting virtually
as relay and with an independent electrical supply. The
connection K1 between mobile telephone 9 and converter 13
on the one hand is via the mobile telephone's own high-
frequency connection HF and/or via an infrared connection
IR and/or via acoustic coupling AK. The communications
connection Kz between converter 13 and hearing device 1 on
the other hand is, in a preferred embodiment, via an -
electrical or optical - line connection, Ca, where
necessary also (not shown) not line connected via a high
frequency connection of a type adapted to the hearing
device 1, or via an IR link or acoustically. The
converter 13 may be provided as an independent unit, as
represented in Fig. 2, or can be incorporated into the
mobile telephone 9 or the hearing device 1.
'' CA 02399929 2002-08-12
For adjustment of the hearing device, the mobile
telephone 9, menu-driven, is switched to the adjustment
or fitting mode through manual and/or voice input, for
example by pressing a special combination of keys.
5 Through further inputs, parameter modification signals
are then fed via the communications connection K or K1, Kz
to the hearing device control input ES, and the hearing
device is purposely adjusted in respect of its
transmission behavior.
With the configuration of the fitting system according to
the invention according to figure 1 or 2, it is readily
possible to make simple, initial adjustments to the
hearing device, such as reducing the high-frequency
amplification, for example, or raising the low-frequency
transmission etc. by means of a manual input or through
voice input and the direct conversion of these to a
single control parameter via the communications
connection K or K1, K2. It is generally necessary,
however, in response to simple subjective hearing
impressions of the individual wearing the hearing device
1, such as the impression "too loud", "shrill" etc., to
purposely adjust a multiplicity of parameters on the
digital transmission line 5 of the hearing device 1 as a
function of one another. In such a case, either the
specialist, that is the hearing device acoustics expert,
translates the verbally communicated hearing impressions
into a plurality of transmission parameters to be
modified and operates the inputs of the mobile telephone
9 to be used in accordance with the invention, or the
fitting program loaded into the mobile telephone 9,
through simple inputs on the mobile telephone 9,
automatically converts the subjective hearing impressions
identified into the necessary number of parameter
modifications, where necessary taking account of existing
complex dependencies.
v~ CA 02399929 2002-08-12
11
Instead of manual inputs, voice inputs can in principle
be made into the mobile telephone, by means of keypad,
for example, provided that the mobile telephone 9 is
suitably equipped.
By loading programs specific to the type of hearing
device into the processor-controlled mobile telephone 9,
therefore, control signals are transmitted to the hearing
device 1 via the communications connection K or K1, K2,
menu-driven by manual and/or voice inputs. These programs
can be designed to activate more or less complex
adjustment procedures on the hearing device on the basis
of simple inputs corresponding to said simple hearing
impressions. The programs specific to the hearing device
are loaded into the mobile telephone 9, either by
inserting a SIM card, for example, or by other external
loading, as will be further explored.
In figure 3, the particular communications
characteristics of the mobile telephone 9 are
incorporated into the fitting system according to the
invention on the basis of the explanations given with
regard to figures 1 and 2. For example, the mobile
telephone 9 provided for according to the invention
communicates with a server 25 via the Internet I and/or a
company and clientele-based Intranet Ia, for example. The
adjustment facilities and algorithms or fitting programs
25T assigned to the individual types of hearing device are
filed on this server 25 which, for example, may be
operated jointly or specifically by hearing device
manufacturers or by third-party suppliers. By calling up
the server 25 with the mobile telephone 9 in the
adjustment menu, the necessary fitting programs are
transmitted to the telephone 9 by the server 25. The
necessary parameter modifications can thereby be
transmitted from the telephone 9 to the hearing device 1
'' CA 02399929 2002-08-12
12
worn via the communications connection K or Kl, K2. The
fitting program is loaded on to the mobile telephone 9
via the network I, Ia, where appropriate limited only in
terms of time, i.e. only for the duration of the
adjustment procedure.
In a further use of the server 25, the telephone 9
transmits the current hearing device settings and
modification requirements to the server 25. Filed on the
server 25 are not only data specific to the type of
hearing device, particularly adjustment programs, as
represented diagrammatically in the storage unit 25T, but
also data specific to the individual hearing device as
represented diagrammatically by the storage unit 25T.
Filed therein are data such as subjective hearing
impressions and the resulting parameter modifications
made, where necessary together with the history of
changes to the settings for each individual hearing
device. Through identification, the individual can now in
each case activate a fresh optimization cycle via the
mobile telephone 9 and by inputting further hearing
impressions or desired corrections. By means of the
server-resident computational capacity R, a fresh
parameter modification is determined from the setting
history for the individual hearing device 1, stored for a
shorter or longer period, and the recently reported
hearing impressions or desired corrections, in order to
make the hearing device conform optimally to the
requirements of the individual. These parameter
modifications are translated via the mobile telephone 9
and the communications connection K or K1, K2 directly on
the hearing device 1 in the individual's ear, preferably
without any further intervention on the part of the
individual.
W CA 02399929 2002-08-12
13
It goes without saying that improved adjustment programs
can also be transmitted to the telephone 9 at any time,
particularly through the use of a transferred data bank,
where necessary with the computational capacity as
explained with reference to figure 3, provided that the
telephone is to be used offline in the fitting menu, for
example. In extreme cases, signal processing programs or
software on the hearing device 1 can be ready loaded from
the server 25 for the initial configuration and
thereafter maintained or updated from the server 25.
The known commercial facilities afforded by E-commerce
are preferably used for such services.
Subsequently, improved adjustments, updates of programs
etc. can readily run in the background during normal
operation of the mobile telephone, particularly where a
direct, wireless connection exists between mobile
telephone and hearing device.
It also goes without saying that the fitting system
according to the invention, which has been explained as
an example of the adjustment of a single hearing device,
is equally suited to the adjustment of binaural hearing
devices.
