Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants
A cochlear implant (CI) is a neurotechnological device that restores total sensorineural hearing loss. It contains a sophisticated speech processor that analyzes and transforms the acoustic input. It distributes its time-enveloped spectral content to the auditory nerve as electrical pulsed stimulati...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1183126/full |
| _version_ | 1797780956689465344 |
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| author | A. John Van Opstal Elisabeth Noordanus |
| author_facet | A. John Van Opstal Elisabeth Noordanus |
| author_sort | A. John Van Opstal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A cochlear implant (CI) is a neurotechnological device that restores total sensorineural hearing loss. It contains a sophisticated speech processor that analyzes and transforms the acoustic input. It distributes its time-enveloped spectral content to the auditory nerve as electrical pulsed stimulation trains of selected frequency channels on a multi-contact electrode that is surgically inserted in the cochlear duct. This remarkable brain interface enables the deaf to regain hearing and understand speech. However, tuning of the large (>50) number of parameters of the speech processor, so-called “device fitting,” is a tedious and complex process, which is mainly carried out in the clinic through ‘one-size-fits-all’ procedures. Current fitting typically relies on limited and often subjective data that must be collected in limited time. Despite the success of the CI as a hearing-restoration device, variability in speech-recognition scores among users is still very large, and mostly unexplained. The major factors that underly this variability incorporate three levels: (i) variability in auditory-system malfunction of CI-users, (ii) variability in the selectivity of electrode-to-auditory nerve (EL-AN) activation, and (iii) lack of objective perceptual measures to optimize the fitting. We argue that variability in speech recognition can only be alleviated by using objective patient-specific data for an individualized fitting procedure, which incorporates knowledge from all three levels. In this paper, we propose a series of experiments, aimed at collecting a large amount of objective (i.e., quantitative, reproducible, and reliable) data that characterize the three processing levels of the user’s auditory system. Machine-learning algorithms that process these data will eventually enable the clinician to derive reliable and personalized characteristics of the user’s auditory system, the quality of EL-AN signal transfer, and predictions of the perceptual effects of changes in the current fitting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:51:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4481932664fd4d7a86c905c9bd9b119e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-453X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:51:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-4481932664fd4d7a86c905c9bd9b119e2023-07-13T13:03:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2023-07-011710.3389/fnins.2023.11831261183126Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implantsA. John Van OpstalElisabeth NoordanusA cochlear implant (CI) is a neurotechnological device that restores total sensorineural hearing loss. It contains a sophisticated speech processor that analyzes and transforms the acoustic input. It distributes its time-enveloped spectral content to the auditory nerve as electrical pulsed stimulation trains of selected frequency channels on a multi-contact electrode that is surgically inserted in the cochlear duct. This remarkable brain interface enables the deaf to regain hearing and understand speech. However, tuning of the large (>50) number of parameters of the speech processor, so-called “device fitting,” is a tedious and complex process, which is mainly carried out in the clinic through ‘one-size-fits-all’ procedures. Current fitting typically relies on limited and often subjective data that must be collected in limited time. Despite the success of the CI as a hearing-restoration device, variability in speech-recognition scores among users is still very large, and mostly unexplained. The major factors that underly this variability incorporate three levels: (i) variability in auditory-system malfunction of CI-users, (ii) variability in the selectivity of electrode-to-auditory nerve (EL-AN) activation, and (iii) lack of objective perceptual measures to optimize the fitting. We argue that variability in speech recognition can only be alleviated by using objective patient-specific data for an individualized fitting procedure, which incorporates knowledge from all three levels. In this paper, we propose a series of experiments, aimed at collecting a large amount of objective (i.e., quantitative, reproducible, and reliable) data that characterize the three processing levels of the user’s auditory system. Machine-learning algorithms that process these data will eventually enable the clinician to derive reliable and personalized characteristics of the user’s auditory system, the quality of EL-AN signal transfer, and predictions of the perceptual effects of changes in the current fitting.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1183126/fullcochlear implant technologyobjective measurespersonalized health carepsychophysicselectrophysiologyreaction times |
| spellingShingle | A. John Van Opstal Elisabeth Noordanus Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants Frontiers in Neuroscience cochlear implant technology objective measures personalized health care psychophysics electrophysiology reaction times |
| title | Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants |
| title_full | Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants |
| title_fullStr | Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants |
| title_short | Towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants |
| title_sort | towards personalized and optimized fitting of cochlear implants |
| topic | cochlear implant technology objective measures personalized health care psychophysics electrophysiology reaction times |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1183126/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ajohnvanopstal towardspersonalizedandoptimizedfittingofcochlearimplants AT elisabethnoordanus towardspersonalizedandoptimizedfittingofcochlearimplants |