Somatic, auditory and cochlear communication system and method

Abstract

Methods and devices to deliver a tactile speech analog to a person's skin providing a silent, invisible, hands-free, eyes-free, and ears-free way to receive and directly comprehend electronic communications. Embodiments include an alternative to hearing aids that will enable people with hearing loss to better understand speech. A device, worn like watch or bracelet, supplements a person's remaining hearing to help identify and disambiguate those sounds he or she can not hear properly. Embodiments for hearing aids and hearing prosthetics are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for processing a sequence of spoken words into a sequence of sets of nerve stimuli, delivered via an array of nerve stimulators, each set of nerve stimuli being a symbolic representation of a phoneme of a particular user's language, the system comprising:
 a converter configured to receive a sequence of spoken words and to digitize electrical signals representative of the sequence of spoken words;   a speech recognizer configured to receive the digitized electrical signals and generate a sequence of phonemes representative of the sequence of spoken words, wherein a number of possible phonemes for a particular user is based on a spoken language used by the particular user;   a mapper configured to receive a particular user's determined range of perceivable stimuli that the array of nerve stimulators can cause to be perceived by the user and to assign a symbolic stimulus or combination of stimuli representation to each phoneme derived from the particular user's range of perceivable stimuli, each symbolic representation comprising between one and a total number of perceivable stimuli as to generate a map, wherein each phoneme has a corresponding stimulus or set of stimuli, and wherein the particular user's range of perceivable stimuli is used to determine a range of stimuli such that each stimulus in the range is perceptible to the particular user at a selected power, wherein first rules implemented on the mapper constrain a set of stimuli within the determined range of stimuli;   a transformer configured to receive the sequence of phonemes representative of the sequence of spoken words and the map and to generate a sequence of stimulus definitions corresponding to the sequence of phonemes; and   a receiver configured to obtain and convert the sequence of stimulus definitions into one or more electrical waveforms used to stimulate a part of the particular user's body according to the sequence of stimulus definitions such that the sequence of spoken words can be discerned by the particular user.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stimulus or stimuli include a begin time, an end time, a power level, a change in power between the begin time and the end time of a stimulus, a pulse or cyclic wax/wain rate of a stimulus power for a particular stimulus, and a duty cycle. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the array of nerve stimulators comprises an electrode array configured to receive the one or more electrical waveforms. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the electrode array is surgically placed in the user's cochlea. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the sequence of stimulus definitions comprise digital representations of nerve stimulation patterns. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mapper configured to assign a symbolic representation to each phoneme utilizes a list of phonemes based on the language of the particular user. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein each symbolic representation includes electrode assignments. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the nerve stimuli are associated with a hearing prosthesis comprising a cochlear implant. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the nerve stimuli are electrical. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the stimulus definitions comprise sets of one or more stimuli. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the sets of one or more stimuli correspond to one or more locations on the skin. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the sets of one or more stimuli correspond to one or more locations in the cochlea. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the begin time parameter is representative of a time from an end of components of a previous stimulus definition. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the electrode array comprises a plurality of electrodes. 
     
     
         15 . A system for processing a sequence of spoken words into a sequence of sets of nerve stimuli, delivered via nerve stimulators arrayed on a user's skin, each set of nerve stimuli being a symbolic representation of a phoneme of a particular user's language, the system comprising:
 a converter configured to receive a sequence of spoken words and to digitize electrical signals representative of the sequence of spoken words;   a speech recognizer configured to receive the digitized electrical signals and generate a sequence of phonemes representative of the sequence of spoken words, wherein a number of possible phonemes for a particular user is based on a spoken language used by the particular user;   a mapper configured with a position of each nerve stimulator in an array and to assign a symbolic stimulus or combination of stimuli representation to each phoneme derived from a particular user's range of perceivable stimuli, each symbolic representation comprising between one and a total number of stimuli so as to generate a map, wherein each phoneme has a corresponding stimulus or set of stimuli, and wherein the array's range of deliverable stimuli is used to determine a range of stimuli such that each stimulus in the range is perceptible to the particular user at a selected power, wherein first rules implemented on the mapper constrain a set of stimuli within the determined range of stimuli;   a transformer configured to receive the sequence of phonemes representative of the sequence of spoken words and the map and to generate a sequence of stimulus definitions corresponding to the sequence of phonemes; and   a receiver configured to obtain and convert the sequence of stimulus definitions into one or more electrical waveforms used to stimulate a part of the particular user's body according to the sequence of stimulus definitions such that the sequence of spoken words can be discerned by the particular user.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the stimulus or stimuli include a begin time, an end time, a power level, a change in power between the begin time and the end time of a stimulus, a pulse or cyclic wax/wain rate of a stimulus power for a particular stimulus, and a duty cycle. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the array of nerve stimulators comprises an electrode array configured to receive the one or more electrical waveforms. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the array of nerve stimulators comprises electromechanical vibrators configured to receive the one or more electrical waveforms. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electrode array is arranged on an ankle band, wristband, or glove. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the electromechanical vibrators are arranged on an ankle band, wristband, or glove. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the sequence of stimulus definitions comprise digital representations of nerve stimulation patterns. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the mapper configured to assign a symbolic representation to each phoneme utilizes a list of phonemes based on the language of the particular user. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein each symbolic representation includes electrode assignments. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the nerve stimuli are associated with a skin interface. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the skin interface is located on the wrist and/or hand of the user. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the skin interface is located on the ankle and/or foot of the user. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the stimulus definitions comprise sets of one or more stimuli. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the sets of one or more stimuli correspond to one or more locations on the skin. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electrode array comprises a plurality of electrodes.