Field-Deployable Intensimetric Probe System for Early Diagnosis and Monitoring of Noised-Induced Hearing Loss and Traumatic Middle Ear Injury

Abstract

The goal of this project is to develop field-deployable technology for the early diagnosis and monitoring of NIHL and traumatic middleear injury in Service Members and Veterans, enabling both the more accurate evaluation and the application of preventative therapies and treatments for hearing injuries. Our main objective is to develop and validate a highly innovative intensimetric probe system that has a microphone for sensing acoustic pressure, and a velocimeter for sensing acoustic velocity, allowing for the direct measurement of acoustic impedance, without the need for Thevenin calibration. This will allow for the reliable assessment of middle and inner-ear auditory function ear function without the need for complex daily Thevenin calibration in a package that is suitable for field use.The first aim of the project is to refine an intensimetric probe system for the detection of hearing injury. We have accomplished this goal. During the reporting period, we assembled, calibrated, debugged, and tested one Beta prototype probe, developed a calibration procedure for the Microflown velocity sensor, updated the firmware to improve noise rejection for distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and developed a MATLAB user interface for the probe. The second and third aims are laboratory and clinical validation of the intensimetric probe system, and we are making strong progress towards accomplishing those aims. During ther eporting period, we prepared the documentation and software necessary for recruitment and testing, completed troubleshooting ofthe prototype probe in human subjects, began recruitment and data collection, and completed preliminary analyses of pilot data collection. To date, we have collected data on 49 participants (including 10 pilot participants). Preliminary analyses demonstrate that the Creare intensimetric probe is both accurate and reliable as compared to a commercial probe system (the Interacoustics Titan).Further, the Creare intensi

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2023
Accession Number
AD1218033

Entities

People

  • Gabrielle R Merchant

Organizations

  • Boys Town National Research Hospital

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biomedical Research
  • Brain Injuries
  • Data Analysis
  • Detection
  • Ear
  • Ear Diseases
  • Graphical User Interface
  • Health Services
  • Hearing Disorders
  • Hearing Loss
  • Inner Ear
  • Measurement
  • Medical Personnel
  • Pressure Measurement
  • Reliability
  • User Interface

Readers

  • Auditory Neuroscience/Auditory Physiology.
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Medical Imaging.