Development of a telephone terminal with compensation for hearing deficiencies

• Grant number: 04/02490-6
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: March 01, 2005
• End date: August 31, 2005
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Telecommunications
• Principal Investigator: Guido Stolfi
• Grantee: Guido Stolfi
• Company: Koller & Sindicic Importação e Exportação Ltda
• City: São Paulo

Abstract

This project aims to develop a prototype telephone receiver aimed at individuals who suffer from light to moderate hearing deficits. This device should incorporate the means of digitally processing the voice signal received, in order to improve its intelligibility. The equipment should allow the user to control the application of the processing resources so as to adjust the result to the individual characteristics of his auditive perception. In this equipment it is proposed to use signal processing algorithms which are innovative compared to those usually found in conventional auditive prostheses, or even in ordinary amplified telephones; and which should be particularly suited to the characteristics of the telephone channel, such as: filtering with continuously adjustable cut-off frequency, selective compression of the dynamic range, spectral replication and translation. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the implemented processes with regard to intelligibility will be carried out by means of recognition tests of isolated syllables and sentences applied on representative groups of different classes of hearing deficit. (AU)