Granted Patent B2

US 12,343,534 · App. 17/554,973 · Granted Jul 1, 2025

Inventors: Douglas L. Oliver (West Hartford, CT); Alice L. Burghard (Wolcott, CT); Christopher Lee (West Hartford, CT); Emily Fabrizio-Stover (Rocky Hill, CT)

Assignee: University of Connecticut

A61N1/36036A61B5/123A61B5/128A61B5/4836A61B5/7228A61B5/7235A61N1/0456

Abstract

Claims (61)

1. A method comprising:

generating a first stimulus comprising a first center frequency and a second stimulus comprising a second center frequency, wherein each of the first stimulus and the second stimulus comprises at least one of a tone pip, a chirp, a narrow-band noise, or a click, and wherein the second center frequency is determined based on a patient-perceived tinnitus frequency;

receiving first data based on the first stimulus;

receiving second data based on the second stimulus;

determining an indication of tinnitus including at least one of a determined severity or a determined likelihood of tinnitus based on a comparison between the first data and the second data in a time-frequency domain; and

administering a tinnitus treatment on a patient based on the determined severity or likelihood of tinnitus, the tinnitus treatment comprising transcutaneous electrical stimulation, biological feedback with the patient, transcranial magnetic stimulation of the patient, surgical insertion of a cochlear implant, a cognitive behavioral therapy, pharmacologic therapy on the patient, applying a hearing aid to the patient, or any combination thereof, wherein at least one parameter of the tinnitus treatment is configured according to the indication of tinnitus.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first stimulus further comprises a first segment and a second segment, the first segment comprising a first modulation defining a succession, the succession having a first duration and the second segment comprising a second modulation having a second duration longer than the first duration.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first modulation is characterized by a first quantity of randomness and the second modulation is characterized by a second quantity of randomness greater than the first quantity of randomness.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second modulation is generated by steps comprising:

generating Gaussian noise; and

filtering the Gaussian noise within a range according to a center frequency.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

generating sound based on the first stimulus; and

adjusting a frequency of the sound until the frequency of the sound is substantially similar to a frequency of tinnitus perceived by the patient.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first modulation is defined by a sequence, the sequence comprising the succession and a period of inaudibility.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the succession comprises pulses of a same perturbation and a duration of the period of inaudibility and a duration of the succession are substantially equal.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the succession comprises an amplitude-modulated waveform and a duration of the period of inaudibility and the first duration are substantially equal.

9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first modulation comprises a sinusoid.

10. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first stimulus comprises a third segment, the third segment comprising the first modulation.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first data is based on the first segment and the second data is based on the third segment.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first data is based on the first segment and the second data is based on the first segment.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data and the second data are based on a response of the patient to at least one of the first stimulus or the second stimulus in the time-frequency domain and the comparison is indicative of differences between the first data in the time-frequency domain and the second data in the time-frequency domain.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data and the second data are based on a response of the patient to at least one of the first stimulus or the second stimulus and the comparison is based on an average of correlations of random samples of the first data and an average of correlations of random samples of the second data.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data and the second data are based on a response of the patient to at least one of the first stimulus or the second stimulus and the comparison based on a characteristic of the first data in a time domain and a characteristic of the second data in the time domain.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the characteristic of the first data is a peak of the first data and the characteristic of the second data is a peak of the second data.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the characteristic of the first data is a trough of the first data and the characteristic of the second data is a trough of the second data.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the characteristic of the first data is a distance of the first data and the characteristic of the second data is a distance of the second data.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication is a likelihood of tinnitus.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication is categorizes the tinnitus.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the first stimulus and the second stimulus is configured to evoke a response in a brainstem of the patient, the response expressed by potentials.

22. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

measuring potentials based on each of the first stimulus and the second stimulus to define the first data and the second data.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

generating the first stimulus having the first center frequency and the second stimulus having the second center frequency is performed by a processor;

receiving the first data based on the first stimulus further comprises receiving, via one or more electrodes, the first data based on the first stimulus;

receiving the second data based on the second stimulus further comprises receiving, via the one or more electrodes, the second data based on the second stimulus; and

determining the indication of tinnitus is performed by the processor.

24. A method comprising:

generating a first stimulus comprising a first center frequency and a second stimulus comprising a second center frequency, wherein each of the first stimulus and the second stimulus comprises at least one of a tone pip, a chirp, a narrow-band noise, or a click, and wherein the second center frequency is determined based on a patient-perceived tinnitus frequency;

receiving first data based on the first stimulus, the first data based on a first response of a patient to the first stimulus in a time-frequency domain;

receiving second data based on the second stimulus, the second data based on a second response of the patient to the second stimulus in the time-frequency domain;

determining an indication of tinnitus including at least one of a determined severity or a determined likelihood of tinnitus based on a comparison between the first data and the second data, the comparison indicative of differences between the first data in the time-frequency domain and the second data in the time-frequency domain; and

administering a tinnitus treatment on the patient based on the determined severity or likelihood of tinnitus, the tinnitus treatment comprising transcutaneous electrical stimulation, biological feedback with the patient, transcranial magnetic stimulation of the patient, surgical insertion of a cochlear implant, a cognitive behavioral therapy, pharmacologic therapy on the patient, applying a hearing aid to the patient, or any combination thereof, wherein at least one parameter of the tinnitus treatment is configured according to the indication of tinnitus.

25. A method comprising:

generating a first stimulus comprising a first center frequency and a second stimulus comprising a second center frequency, wherein each of the first stimulus and the second stimulus comprises at least one of a tone pip, a chirp, a narrow-band noise, or a click, and wherein the second center frequency is determined based on a patient-perceived tinnitus frequency;

receiving first data based on the first stimulus, the first data based on a first response of a patient to the first stimulus in a time-frequency domain;

receiving second data based on the second stimulus, the second data based on a second response of the patient to the second stimulus in the time-frequency domain;

determining an indication of tinnitus including at least one of a determined severity or a determined likelihood of tinnitus based on a comparison between the first data and the second data, the comparison based on an average of correlations of random samples of the first data and an average of correlations of random samples of the second data; and

administering a tinnitus treatment on the patient based on the determined severity or likelihood of tinnitus, the tinnitus treatment comprising transcutaneous electrical stimulation, biological feedback with the patient, transcranial magnetic stimulation of the patient, surgical insertion of a cochlear implant, a cognitive behavioral therapy, pharmacologic therapy on the patient, applying a hearing aid to the patient, or any combination thereof, wherein at least one parameter of the tinnitus treatment is configured according to the indication of tinnitus.

26. A method comprising:

receiving first data based on a stimulus, wherein the stimulus comprises a first segment, the first segment comprises a first modulation defining a succession, the succession having a first duration, and the first modulation comprises a tone pip, a chirp, a narrow-band noise, or a click;

receiving second data based on the stimulus;

determining an indication of tinnitus based on a comparison between the first data and the second data, the indication comprising a category of tinnitus affecting a patient at one or more frequencies; and

administering a tinnitus treatment on the patient based on the indication of tinnitus, the tinnitus treatment comprising:

providing a magnitude of transcutaneous electrical stimulation, where the magnitude is based on the category of tinnitus;

applying a hearing aid to the patient, the hearing aid being configured to provide higher output at the one or more frequencies based on the category of tinnitus; or

one or more combination thereof.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein:

receiving the first data based on the stimulus further comprises receiving, via one or more electrodes, the first data based on the stimulus;

receiving the second data based on the stimulus further comprises receiving, via the one or more electrodes, the second data based on the stimulus; and

determining the indication of tinnitus is performed by a processor.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (26)