The present invention relates to a method for interconnecting a wearable appliance to a remote adjusting software via a communication network. The present invention has a preferred, but not exclusive, application in the field of adjusting portable hearing aids supplied to patients with hearing dysfunctions.
In recent years, hearing aid manufacturers have begun, with increasing frequency, to make wireless communication standards available to enable open connections with hearing aids worn by patients.
Such connections can occur mainly in two ways.
With reference to
A second known type of connection is made via specific software (so-called “fitting software”), usually installed in the computers of the hearing care professionals/operators used in the service centers, to enable more comprehensive and in-depth adjustments. In this context, the connection between the hearing care professional's computer and the hearing aid can be made directly in the service center (so-called “in-store fitting”) or remotely (so-called “remote fitting”).
It should first be specified that each hearing aid manufacturer releases its own proprietary software capable of interfacing only with its own hearing aids placed on the market. This means that service centers must have as many software installed on their computers as there are hearing aids used by their clients introducing enormous complications due to the fact that hearing care professionals are forced to master different platforms and different workflows all different from each other.
Referring to
Referring to
It should also be emphasized, therefore, that specific remote fitting processes which are so different among manufacturers result in enormous negative consequences on the patient and on the daily work of the hearing care professional.
In addition to the various remote fitting processes, there is also a further major limitation in the actual fitting workflows: hearing aid manufacturers, in fact, recognizing the limitation of their technologies have implemented separate and dedicated workflows that exclude several key and important features from what can be fitted directly in authorized centers. In other words, remote fitting functions are of such limited scope that it is reflected in extremely low utilization by hearing care professionals who are thus unable to exploit the true potential thereof.
From an IT-technical point of view, remote fitting via smart-phone is mainly carried out according to two techniques:
It should also be emphasized that current remote solutions are based on server-centric systems with old communication standards (such as, e.g., of the websocket type) that are ill-suited to connection and fitting needs whose write and response times between fitting software and hearing aids are crucial: any delay in the transfer of adjustment instructions can cause problems in the setting of hearing aids that in most cases can only be fixed by a complete restart of the fitting process. The overall performance is therefore limited not only by the performance of the server, the connection bandwidth and the protocol used, but also by the location of the patient and the hearing care professional relative to the server itself, features that otherwise do not affect other applications where timing is not essential. Therefore, for the aforementioned reasons, the overall service is very limited as a result of the issues outlined above, which effectively prevent the provision of a minimally adequate service. To overcome such delays, one option is to install multiple servers in well-defined geographic locations so as to increase their number based on the actual demand. Conversely, however, this prevents immediate scalability: it requires continuous monitoring (to check whether demand exceeds supply) and manual intervention resulting in unsatisfactory response times. Remote fittings are therefore highly dependent on the type and number of servers available, but not only that: delays introduced by apps in smart-phones as well as processing times to process instructions to be sent to hearing aids and vice versa, from the latter to the fitting software, must also be taken into account.
The Applicant, faced with the plurality of existing communication technologies, all of which must coexist at the same time, and with the variety of problems outlined above, has therefore come up with a solution that would first and foremost allow to free itself from the use of bridging devices and also allow the fitting software of different manufacturers to be able to communicate with any of the portable devices provided to patients with hearing dysfunctions by taking advantage of the different communication protocols offered by the portable device itself.
Thus, the Applicant has developed a method for interconnecting a user's wearable appliance to an adjusting software via a communication network the purpose of which is to enable synchronous fitting of the wearable appliance via the presence of a specific client module and a specific server module both configured to:
A further object of the present invention is to enable the fitting software to communicate directly with the transceiver module of the user's portable device and thus be able to establish direct logical connections with all hearing aids found within the network of the portable device.
Another object of the present invention lies in the ability given to manufacturers of wearable appliances to be able to run in their specific fitting software one and only one predetermined library regardless of the model of wearable appliance and/or the type of fitting software: the library distributed among manufacturers is thus the same. This approach simplifies any further development of these libraries and reduces the maintenance or update effort as operating systems evolve over time.
Still a further object of the present invention is to enable both “in-store” and remote fittings without the use of dedicated bridging devices but by simply taking advantage of communication protocols made available by patients' portable devices.
The aforementioned objects are achieved by the present method for interconnecting a wearable appliance to adjusting software via a communication network having the characteristics of claim 1.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of a method for interconnecting a hearing aid to an adjusting software, illustrated by way of an indicative, yet non-limiting example, in the accompanying tables of drawings in which:
As shown in the example in
Usefully, the hearing aid 2 is provided internally with at least one transceiver module 21. The transceiver module 21 is configured to preferably operate in Bluetooth Low Energy (so-called “BLE”) wireless technology, e.g., in the ISM radio frequency spectrum, in order to exchange and transmit, as will be seen below, different data with additional devices placed nearby. However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the transceiver module 21 of the hearing aid 2 also operates on different radio frequencies or different protocols intended, however, to communicate with adjacent devices according to wireless technologies in general such as, e.g., communication of the type of WiFi, BT Classic, NFC, etc.
The method according to the invention also involves providing a portable device 3. Preferably, the portable device 3 is available to the patient but could also be provided by the operator and is also connectable to the telecommunication network R and/or to an additional communication network, e.g., the mobile network. The portable device 3 may preferably comprise a smart-phone. It cannot, however, be ruled out that the portable device 3 may be a different portable device, such as, e.g., a computer, a PDA or other similar devices. The portable device 3 has within it at least one transceiver 31 configured to exchange and transmit data with additional devices placed nearby, preferably according to the Bluetooth protocol. Specifically, the transceiver 31 allows wireless pairing to be established between the portable device 3 and the patient's hearing aid 2. In this context, the transceiver 31 and the transceiver module 21 operate in a mutually compatible frequency range.
Conveniently, the method of the present invention involves the portable device 3 having a specific app 32 installed therein according to techniques that are known in themselves and the operation of which will be explained in detail later on in this description.
In accordance with one embodiment, the computer 1 is provided with a predefined adjusting software 11 (hereafter also referred to as “fitting software”) intended for the adjustment, according to techniques known in themselves, of the operating parameters of a hearing aid 2 provided to the patient. As will be seen in detail later on in this detailed description, the adjusting software 11 is intended for the generation of at least one or more adjustment instructions I for the management of the operating parameters of the hearing aid 2 of the portable device 3.
By way of an example, the adjustment instructions I that the adjusting software 11 can generate can be intended for fitting one or more of the following parameters of the hearing aid 2: amplification level, management of compression intervention level, frequency adjustment of audio signals, microphone settings, anti-feedback system management for Larsen attenuation, management of background noise, management of transient and sudden sounds, management of reverberant listening environments, etc.
In accordance with one embodiment, the method of the invention is provided with an architecture provided with a client module 4 and a server module 5.
Such modules, via the adjusting software 11, are configured to:
In the remainder of this description and in the subsequent claims, a nonhierarchical connection is defined as a connection which does not involve intermediate servers between two interconnected devices.
Preferably, the non-hierarchical connection W between the hearing care professional's computer 1 and the patient's portable device 3 can be of the wireless type. In a further embodiment, the non-hierarchical connection W between the hearing care professional's computer 1 and the patient's portable device 3 can be of the wired type.
In yet another version, the non-hierarchical connection W is of the peer-to-peer type.
For this purpose, as shown in the example in
On the other hand, the server module 5 is implemented on the app 32 of the portable device 3 also connected to one of the nodes N of the telecommunication network R. In detail, the server module 5 is configured to communicate with the client module 4 and comprises:
Preferably, the communication between the modules 4 and 5 is based on the use of a peer-to-peer connection W, preferably based on WebRTC technology, in order to achieve a constantly active bilateral communication channel. As will be seen later in this description, the use of such technology is manageable through one or more predefined libraries which allow effective compatibility between the different programming languages carried out by the processing device 1, by the portable device 3 and/or by the hearing aid 2.
Referring to the example shown in
It should be specified that the compilation of the code that makes up the library L allows the actual generation of the modules 4 and 5.
Preferably, the library L is cross-platform and can be compiled according to techniques known in themselves for any operating system, e.g., Windows, Android, iOS or other systems that support the compiler used. Advantageously, the library L is also configured to generate predefined control drivers Q which can be picked up and installed in the hearing care professional's processing device 1 following specific authorization and which allow the adjusting software 11 to interact and adapt the data to be exchanged with the hearing aid 2 to the communication protocol made available by the patient's portable device 3.
The first call block 42 and the second call block 52 are shared between the client module 4 and the server module 5 and their function is to send and receive calls to/from adjacent blocks for the subsequent sending/receiving of one or more packets of data P (hereafter also “data P”) containing the adjustment instructions I. In detail, such packets of data P are defined by means of programming languages the commands of which have, e.g., the following syntax:
P={“name”, “parameter”, “ID”, “timestamp”}
wherein:
With reference to the example shown in
The network block 43 is substantially responsible for sending the adjustment instructions I while the network block 53 is responsible for receiving the adjustment instructions I.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, data serialization/de-serialization can be done in a compact format such as the Protobuf format. This format is extremely advantageous compared to traditional serialization formats (e.g., of the JSON type) because it allows reducing the width of bytes required to contain a piece of information exchanged between the modules and, likewise, being able to know the type of information, thanks to the use of the Protobuf format.
The physical block 51 is responsible for the interaction with the internal devices (wired or over-the-air data transmission interfaces) of the portable device 3, particularly with the transceiver 31. It is directly connected to the second call block 52 and is configured to transform the activation instructions M received from the adjusting software 11 and intended to activate the transceiver 31.
In one version, the physical block 51 is configured to generate a control driver Q which allows the adjusting software 11 to interact and adapt the data P to be exchanged with the hearing aid 2 to the communication protocol made available by the patient's portable device 3.
In accordance with one embodiment, the network blocks 43, 53 are responsible for connections, disconnections, sending and receiving data P between the modules 4 and 5. In detail, the method according to the invention involves establishing a non-hierarchical connection W, preferably of the peer-to-peer type, between the processing device 1 and the portable device 3 via one or more nodes N of the network R. Specifically, to establish such a connection W, a signaling server (not shown) is initially arranged between the processing device 1 and the portable device 3. Preferably, the connection W is established via the WebRTC technology, written in a low-level language such as, e.g., C++ or C.
Once the connection W has been established between the processing device 1 and the portable device 3, the signaling server can be disconnected, since the packets of data P will be exchanged only from the communication channel opened by WebRTC.
Next, the method according to the invention provides for a logical connection W being established between the processing device 1 and the hearing aid 2, more particularly between the adjusting software 11 and the hearing aid 2. Once the logical connection K has been established, it is possible to send to the wearable appliance 2, via the portable device 3 and by means of the previously activated logical connection, the adjustment instructions I for the adjustment of the operating parameters of the wearable appliance 2 itself. Thus, advantageously, the method of the present invention allows the adjusting software 11 to establish a direct logic channel with the hearing aid 2 as if it were directly connected thereto without intermediation. After reaching the portable device 3, the adjustment instructions I are transmitted to the hearing aid 2 without being further processed since such processing was previously carried out by the client module 4 and by the server module 5.
Preferably, the start of the connection W is based on the Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) technology wherein a shared ID_USER string is defined between the application 32 and the adjusting software 11. Preferably, this string is univocal and allows the connection to a preferable number of three applications, but however, the use of more than three applications cannot be ruled out. In one version, it is possible to have only the adjusting software 11 and the application 32 connected to each other. On the other hand, in a further version, it is possible to have not only the adjusting software 11 and the application 32 connected to each other but also a third application containing a video call module. In the latter case, during an interconnection between the portable device and the processing device it is possible to make one or more video calls to have, e.g., several people participate in the same adjustment activity.
In accordance with a further embodiment, the transmission of data P between the processing device 1 and the portable device 3 is done by exploiting, preferably, the communication protocol SCTP between the modules 4 and 5. The use of different communication protocols such as, e.g., of the QUIC, DCCP type, etc., cannot however be ruled out.
In accordance with a further embodiment, if a peer-to-peer connection W cannot be established between the processing device 1 and the portable device 3, the method of the invention may provide for the use of an additional server (not shown) capable of exposing the public portion of the users' IP addresses to ensure that the connection between the devices 1, 3 is maintained. For example, if one of the devices is connected to the network R via a NAT router, a predefined STUN protocol may be provided in order to maintain the connection via the exposed IP address.
Preferably, the adjustment of the operating parameters of the wearable appliance 2 occurs in real time. Real-time refers to the time elapsed between the request to send the activation instruction M and the receipt of the successful (or failed) request received from the call block 42, as illustrated at the end of the flow in
In accordance with one embodiment, the packets of data P are encrypted in advance by the blocks 43 and 53. In detail, a phase of encrypting of the packet of data P is provided using a specific tracking protocol (e.g., exploiting WebRTC libraries) intended to ensure the privacy of communications exchanged between the various devices. Preferably, the tracking protocol used is of the DTLS type and enables the prevention of eavesdropping, tampering or falsification of the exchanged data. The DTLS protocol is based on the Transport Layer Security (“TLS”) protocol and provides equivalent security guarantees at least equal to the latter.
In accordance with one embodiment, the method of the present invention may provide for the use of an additional software application (not shown) also installed in the device 1 to be able to establish a parallel connection between the processing device 1 and the portable device 3 in order to enable personalized calls and/or video calls with the user. In detail, this additional software application would allow a communication P2P to be established parallel to the main one described above (the STUN protocols outlined above also apply to this connection). In an alternative version, the hearing care professional may open a specific web portal that allows calling the patient on a specific previously installed application of the smart-phone 3.
As appreciated by the present description, it has been ascertained that the invention described herein achieves the intended objects, and in particular the fact is emphasized that through the method described herein it is possible to free oneself from physical bridging devices that are no longer needed by preventing any hardware obsolescence of the devices involved. Additionally, it is possible to distribute a single library usable among all the different manufacturers of hearing aids, thus greatly reducing the effort of maintenance or upgrades in relation to the evolutions of the operating systems over time.
The combination of the characteristics of the method for interconnecting a hearing aid to the adjusting software as well as of the execution thereof are potentially infinite and obviously a technician in the field, in order to meet contingent and specific needs, will be able to make numerous modifications and variations, all of which, however, are contained within the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
102022000006065 | Mar 2022 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/IB2023/053010 | 3/27/2023 | WO |