Patent Document ID: 7893934
Application ID: 11441541
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for developing a computational model of an ear comprised of a plurality of individual anatomical structures, at least one of the anatomical structures including an external ear canal and a middle ear cavity filled with air, the method comprising the steps of: constructing, by a computer system, a three-dimensional geometric model of the ear including a plurality of anatomical structures of the ear, each anatomical structure having a physical property of at least one of air and solid material; meshing the individual anatomical structures in the three-dimensional geometric model of the ear accounting for the physical properties of the meshed anatomical structures; assigning material properties for the anatomical structures within the three-dimensional model based on the physical property of each anatomical structure; assigning boundary conditions to the three-dimensional model for at least some of the anatomical structures indicative of the interaction between such anatomical structures, the boundary conditions including at least one of an air-to-solid interface; and employing acoustic-structural coupled analysis calculating at least an acoustic pressure distribution along the external ear canal using the boundary conditions including the at least one air-to-solid interface on the three-dimensional model to generate data indicative of the acoustic effect on mechanical vibration transmission in the ear caused by introducing an acoustic wave into the air within the external ear canal.