Patent ID: 8840558

Claim:
A method for mathematically characterizing a person's ear canal, the method comprising: positioning a pre-formed expandable balloon in the ear canal, the balloon including a transducer system including a hollow central channel, a flexible catheter extending through the central channel, the flexible catheter including a flexible track, a platform movably coupled to the track, an ultrasonic transducer probe coupled top the platform, and a sensor coupled to the platform; expanding the balloon to fit the person's ear canal snugly to mechanically couple the transducer system to the ear canal; scanning the ear canal using the ultrasonic transducer probe by moving the platform along the track within the channel and within the balloon, wherein moving the platform includes translating and rotating the platform; sensing motion and position of the transducer probe using the sensor; and using information from the ultrasonic transducer probe and sensor to compute a mathematical representation of the ear canal.