Jianchu Jason Yao1, Daoyuan Yao1, Gregg Givens2. 1. 1 Department of Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, East Carolina University , Greenville, North Carolina. 2. 2 Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, East Carolina University , Greenville, North Carolina.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Millions of global citizens suffering from hearing disorders have limited or no access to much needed hearing healthcare. Although tele-audiology presents a solution to alleviate this problem, existing remote hearing diagnosis systems support only pure-tone tests, leaving speech and other test procedures unsolved, due to the lack of software and hardware to enable communication required between audiologists and their remote patients. This article presents a comprehensive remote hearing test system that integrates the two most needed hearing test procedures: a pure-tone audiogram and a speech test. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This enhanced system is composed of a Web application server, an embedded smart Internet-Bluetooth(®) (Bluetooth SIG, Kirkland, WA) gateway (or console device), and a Bluetooth-enabled audiometer. Several graphical user interfaces and a relational database are hosted on the application server. The console device has been designed to support the tests and auxiliary communication between the local site and the remote site. RESULTS: The study was conducted at an audiology laboratory. Pure-tone audiogram and speech test results from volunteers tested with this tele-audiology system are comparable with results from the traditional face-to-face approach. CONCLUSIONS: This browser-server-based comprehensive tele-audiology offers a flexible platform to expand hearing services to traditionally underserved groups.
INTRODUCTION: Millions of global citizens suffering from hearing disorders have limited or no access to much needed hearing healthcare. Although tele-audiology presents a solution to alleviate this problem, existing remote hearing diagnosis systems support only pure-tone tests, leaving speech and other test procedures unsolved, due to the lack of software and hardware to enable communication required between audiologists and their remote patients. This article presents a comprehensive remote hearing test system that integrates the two most needed hearing test procedures: a pure-tone audiogram and a speech test. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This enhanced system is composed of a Web application server, an embedded smart Internet-Bluetooth(®) (Bluetooth SIG, Kirkland, WA) gateway (or console device), and a Bluetooth-enabled audiometer. Several graphical user interfaces and a relational database are hosted on the application server. The console device has been designed to support the tests and auxiliary communication between the local site and the remote site. RESULTS: The study was conducted at an audiology laboratory. Pure-tone audiogram and speech test results from volunteers tested with this tele-audiology system are comparable with results from the traditional face-to-face approach. CONCLUSIONS: This browser-server-based comprehensive tele-audiology offers a flexible platform to expand hearing services to traditionally underserved groups.
Authors: E A Krupinski; B LeSueur; L Ellsworth; N Levine; R Hansen; N Silvis; P Sarantopoulos; P Hite; J Wurzel; R S Weinstein; A M Lopez Journal: Telemed J Date: 1999