Portable Auditory Diagnostic System

DIAGNOSTx Technologies proposes to develop a PC-based instrument for the clinical evaluation of peripheral and central hearing deficits, which will allow audiometric, otoacoustic emissions, evoked-potentials and immittance testing. The integrated system will be capable of assessing hearing sensitivity for speech and pure tones, of evaluating the integrity outer hair cells and auditory central nervous system, and of assessing middle ear and acoustic reflex function. The instrument will be based upon a multimedia notebook computer, with external modules for data acquisition nd signal amplification. It will include a custome, ergonomic audiologist control unit for adjusting signal level and for signal interruption. The user-interface will be Windows-95 based. A standard instrument interface will be used across all the different testing functions. The final instrument, which can be battery powered, will be readily-portable. Ambient noise exclustion systems include use of CD speech, insert earphones, and a specially-designed proprietary probe for immittance and otoacoustic testing. Design features include integration with NOAH hearing aid fitting systems, database management, and customize patient reports. The objective of Phase I is to demonstrate that a common hardware/software platform can be used to implement basic test functions. Miniaturization and capability expansion will be accomplished in Phase II.