DEVELOPMENT OF WEARABLE VIBROTACTILE AID

THE GOAL OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSALIS TO DEVELOP A WEARABLE VIBROTACTILE TRANSDUCER FOR THE PROFOUNDLY HEARING-IMPAIRED. UNDER A SEPARATE CONTRACT WITHA MAJOR MEDICAL SUPPLY COMPANY, SCOTT IS DEVELOPING A PROCESSING UNIT FOR COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS. THE POSSIBILITYEXISTS THAT THE SAME PROCESSING UNIT CAN BE USED AS THE BASIS FOR A WEARABLE VIBROTACTILE AID. THIS GRANT WILL SUPPORT THE RESEARCH NECESSARY TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF THAT ADAPTATION. THE MAJOR EFFORT WILL BE PLACED ON THE DESIGN OF A LOW POWER WEARABLE TRANSDUCER ARRAY. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR HAS BEEN WORKING IN THE AREA OF VIBROTACTILE AIDS FOR THE DEAF SINCE 1973. RECENTLY COMPLETED STUDIES WITH A PORTABLE, BUT NOT WEARABLE, AID WITH DEAF CHILDREN INDICATED THE EFFICACY OF VIBROTACTILE STIMULATION AS A TEACHING AID BUT DEFINITELY INDICATED THE NEED FOR A COSMETICALLY ACCEPTABLE, WEARABLE UNIT. ADDITIONAL STUDIES WITH PROFOUNDLY DEAF ADULTS ALSO STRONGLYINDICATE THE NEED FOR A WEARABLE DEVICE.