Patent ID: 6071246
Filing Date: 2000-06-06
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
Process for the automatic determination of hearing of humans, particularly of newborns and infants, based on detection of the auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) or otacoustic emissions (OAEs), by testing in a frequency domain, the testing comprising the steps of:(a) applying a predetermined initial acoustic stimulation level to a subject;(b) pre-averaging a predetermined, sufficient, number of sweeps to yield a set of subaverages (SA), wherein sweeps are defined as post-stimulus segments;(c) calculating a predetermined number, n, of frequency spectra based on the subaverages (SA);(d) applying a q-sample uniform scores test or a q-sample Watson U.sup.2 test to determine phase and/or amplitude differences among the n frequency spectra;wherein the number of frequency spectra, n, is determined by:(e1) continuously averaging a predetermined number of initial sweeps to provide a predetermined number, m, of subaverages (SA), calculating m frequency spectra based on the m subaverages, and repeatedly applying the q-sample uniform scores test or the q-sample Watson U.sup.2 test to the m frequency spectra;(e2) carrying out a test run using the m q-sampled frequency spectra;(e3) increasing the number of included frequency spectra stepwise and carrying out an additional test run at each step until all n spectral terms are included or until an auditory brainstem response (ABR) or otacoustic emission (OAE) is detected;(e4) if no ABR or OAE is indicated after all n frequency spectra are included, carrying out steps (e1)-(e3) using m+j subaverages (SA), wherein j is a predetermined increment;(e5) if an ABR or OAE is indicated after a predetermined number of subaverages, M, terminating data acquisition at the initial stimulation level;(e6) if no ABR OAE is indicated after the predetermined number of subaverages, increasing the initial acoustic stimulation level by a predetermined amount;(e7) if an ABR or OAE is indicated in the course of step (e1)-(e4), before M subaverages are reached, terminating the testing at the initial acoustic stimulation level or decreasing the acoustic stimulation level in predetermined increments, and repeating steps (e1)-(e6) with the sample size of m.