Patent ID: 9713728
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: A61N,G10L,H03G,H04R

Claim:
1. A portable medical device, comprising: a microphone configured to capture ambient noise from an ambient sound environment; a sound level spectrum knowledge base including stored information, wherein the stored information contains spectral characteristics for a plurality of ambient sound environments; a sound library including a plurality of sets of sound files, each set of sound files corresponding to an audible cue and each sound file in the set of sound files having different spectral characteristics, and at least a plurality of audible cues corresponding to voice prompts to operate the portable medical device; an amplifier coupled to a speaker, the amplifier having a selectable gain and being configured to output each of the plurality of sound files over the speaker; and a processor with executable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the portable medical device to perform operations comprising: receiving, via the microphone, the ambient noise; detecting sound level information of the ambient noise; performing sound spectrum analysis of the ambient noise; receiving the stored information containing spectral characteristics for a plurality of ambient sound environments from the sound level spectrum knowledge base; selecting a sound file from the set of sound files corresponding to an audible cue that is best fit for the ambient sound environment in response to at least the detected sound level information and sound spectrum analysis in conjunction with the spectral characteristics for one of the plurality of ambient sound environments; determining audio frequencies of the ambient noise within a critical bandwidth of the selected sound file based on psycho-acoustic principles of a human auditory system; altering the critical bandwidth of the selected sound file in response to the sound spectrum analysis of the ambient noise; estimating an amount of gain to apply to the sound file in response to the sound level information of the ambient noise; and outputting the sound file to affect intelligibility of the audible cues.