US 9,432,777 B2 · Hearing device with brainwave dependent audio processing

Abstract

A hearing device is adapted to be arranged on or at least partly implanted in an individual's head and comprises: an input unit providing an input audio signal; a signal processing circuit adapted to process the input audio signal; an output unit adapted to provide an audible signal to the individual; one or more electrodes adapted to detect electric brain potentials of the individual; and a brainwave measurement circuit adapted to determine one or more EEG signals from electric signals received from the one or more electrodes. The hearing device further comprises: a first spectrum analyzer determining first audio spectra; a reconstructor adapted to repeatedly reconstruct second audio spectra; a first correlator to determine coherence between the first and the second audio spectra; and a control unit adapted to alter said processing in dependence on the coherence.

Claims34

Dependent claims

A hearing device adapted to be arranged on or at least partly implanted in an individual's head and comprising:

an input unit providing one or more input audio signals in an audible frequency range;
a signal processing circuit adapted to process at least one of said one or more input audio signals to provide a processed audio signal;
an output unit adapted to provide an audible signal to the individual in dependence on the processed audio signal;
one or more electrodes adapted to detect electric brain potentials of the individual;
a brainwave measurement circuit adapted to determine one or more EEG signals from electric signals received from the one or more electrodes;
a first spectrum analyzer adapted to repeatedly determine first spectra in the audible frequency range of at least one signal from the group of signals consisting of said one or more input audio signals and the audible signal;
a reconstructor adapted to repeatedly reconstruct second spectra in the audible frequency range from the one or more EEG signals;
a first coherence calculation unit adapted to repeatedly determine a first coherence between the first and the second spectra;
and
a control unit adapted to alter said processing in dependence on the first coherence.

7 more elements

A method for controlling a hearing device adapted to be arranged on or at least partly implanted in an individual's head and comprising one or more electrodes adapted to detect electric brain potentials of the individual, the method comprising:

providing one or more input audio signals in an audible frequency range;
processing at least one of said one or more input audio signals to provide a processed audio signal;
providing an audible signal to the individual in dependence on the processed audio signal;
determining one or more EEG signals from electric signals received from the one or more electrodes;
repeatedly determining first spectra in the audible frequency range of at least one signal from the group of signals consisting of said one or more input audio signals and the audible signal;
repeatedly reconstructing second spectra in the audible frequency range from the one or more EEG signals;
repeatedly calculating with a coherence calculation unit a first coherence between the first and the second spectra;
and
altering said processing in dependence on the first coherence.

6 more elements

A hearing device configured to be arranged at least partly on an individual's head or at least partly implanted in an individual's head and comprising:

an input unit providing one or more input audio signals in an audible frequency range;
a signal processing circuit adapted to process at least one of said one or more input audio signals to provide a processed audio signal;
one or more electrodes adapted to detect electric brain potentials of the individual;
and
a brainwave measurement circuit adapted to determine one or more brainwave signals from electric signals received from the electrode(s);
a model unit adapted to repeatedly determine a causal model providing a similarity measure indicating a degree of similarity of at least one of said one or more input audio signals or a processed version thereof and at least one of said one or more brainwave signals;
and
a control unit adapted to alter said processing in dependence on the similarity measure, wherein
the causal model is a model of the transfer of an input audio signal to a brainwave signal and comprises a transfer function
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59 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Hearing device with brainwave dependent audio processing

Life of this patent

Hearing device with brainwave dependent audio processing

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims34