A new method in OAE's measurement by computer sound card is introduced. It is a measurement system using SF-1 detector. We designed the appropriate analog filter amplifier peripheral, utilized the mature technology of computer sound card, and recorded the OAE signal using Windows' API function programming by VB. The recorded signals can be analyzed by Matlab, such as digital filtering and Coherence average. The system is, in the main, cost-effective. The statistical results of the experiments proved the reliability of the method.
Acoustic Stimulation ; Cochlea ; physiology ; Evoked Potentials ; Hearing Tests ; instrumentation ; Humans ; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous ; physiology ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Sound

A non-invasive acoustical system was developed for the measurement of transmission properties of acoustic waves in the hip joints. The instrumentation consisted of three sub-systems. An excitation system employed a vibratory force at the sacrum of the test subjects. A transduction system included a pair of identical microphones installed in the tubes of two stethoscopes, which were placed at the greater trochanters on both sides for picking up the acoustical signals transmitted across the hip joints. The data acquisition and analysis system was a portable signal analyzer with a program of dual channel digital filter for measuring the power of acoustical signal in 1/3-octave frequency bands. 27 normal adults, 20 normal pre-school children and 40 normal neonates were randomly selected for testing. Coherence function (CF) and discrepancy (D) was measured during the testing. Results from the three groups showed that there was a high coherence of the signals (CF > 0.9) and a small discrepancy (D < 3 dB) between bilateral hips in the frequency range of 200-315 Hz. For normal neonates, there was a wider frequency range of 160-315 Hz in which the acoustical signals maintained a high coherence (CF > 0.93) and a smaller discrepancy (D < 2 dB) was observed. This study showed that the development of the acoustical technique provided a practical method with objective parameters. The results obtained in this study can offer a baseline for further investigation of hip disorders particularly those related to structural abnormalities of the hip.
Acoustic Stimulation/*instrumentation ; Age Factors ; Hip Joint/*anatomy & histology ; Sacrum/anatomy & histology ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted/*instrumentation ; Sound/*diagnostic use

This paper presents a remote controlled multimode micro-stimulator based on the chip nRF24E1, which consists mainly of a micro-control unit (MCU) and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver. This micro-stimulator is very compact (18 mmx28 mm two layer printed circuit board) and light (5 g without battery), and can be carried on the back of a small animal to generate electrical stimuli according to the commands sent from a PC 10 meters away. The performance and effectiveness of the micro-stimulator were validated by in vitro experiments on the sciatic nerve (SN) of the frog, where action potentials (APs) as well as artifacts were observed when the SN was stimulated by the micro-stimulator. It was also shown by in vivo behavioral experiments on operant conditioned reflexes in rats which can be trained to obey auditory instruction cues by turning right or left to receive electrical stimulation ('virtual' reward) of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) in a maze. The correct response for the rats to obey the instructions increased by three times and reached 93.5% in an average of 5 d. This micro-stimulator can not only be used for training small animals to become an 'animal robot', but also provide a new platform for behavioral and neurophysiological experiments.
Acoustic Stimulation ; Animals ; Behavior Control ; methods ; Conditioning, Operant ; physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Male ; Medial Forebrain Bundle ; physiology ; Movement ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Remote Sensing Technology ; Robotics

A non-invasive acoustical system was developed for the measurement of transmission properties of acoustic waves in the hip joints. The instrumentation consisted of three sub-systems. An excitation system employed a vibratory force at the sacrum of the test subjects. A transduction system included a pair of identical microphones installed in the tubes of two stethoscopes, which were placed at the greater trochanters on both sides for picking up the acoustical signals transmitted across the hip joints. The data acquisition and analysis system was a portable signal analyzer with a program of dual channel digital filter for measuring the power of acoustical signal in 1/3-octave frequency bands. 27 normal adults, 20 normal pre-school children and 40 normal neonates were randomly selected for testing. Coherence function (CF) and discrepancy (D) was measured during the testing. Results from the three groups showed that there was a high coherence of the signals (CF > 0.9) and a small discrepancy (D < 3 dB) between bilateral hips in the frequency range of 200-315 Hz. For normal neonates, there was a wider frequency range of 160-315 Hz in which the acoustical signals maintained a high coherence (CF > 0.93) and a smaller discrepancy (D < 2 dB) was observed. This study showed that the development of the acoustical technique provided a practical method with objective parameters. The results obtained in this study can offer a baseline for further investigation of hip disorders particularly those related to structural abnormalities of the hip.
Acoustic Stimulation ; instrumentation ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hip Joint ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Sacrum ; anatomy & histology ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Sound

This study aimed to develop a non-invasive diagnostic technique for the measurement of acoustic transmission in hip joints to reflect the dynamic response of the observed structure. This instrument consists of three sub-systems. An stimulation system applied a vibratory force at the sacrum of the test subject. A transduction system included a pair of identical microphones was installed in the tubes of two stethoscopes, which were placed at the greater trochanters on both sides for picking up the acoustic signals transmitting across the hip joints. The data acquisition and analysis system was a portable frequency analyser with a program of dual channel digital filter for measuring the power of acoustic signals in 1/3-octoscn frequency bands. Twenty-seven normal adults, 20 normal pre-school children and 40 normal neonates were recruited for the testing. Coherence function (CF) of the signal and the discrepancy (D) of bilateral hips were measured during the testing. The results from the three groups showed that there was a high coherence of the signals (CF > 0.9) and a small discrepancy (D < 3 dB) between bilateral hips in the frequency range of 200-315 Hz. For normal neonates, the frequency range (160-315 Hz) was wider in which the acoustic signals maintained a high coherence (CF > 0.94) and a smaller discrepancy (D < 2 dB) were observed between bilateral hips. This study has shown that the development of the acoustical diagnostic technique could provide a practical method with objective parameters. The results obtained in this study can offer a base for further investigation of hip disorders, particularly those related to structural abnormalities of hip joints.
Acoustic Stimulation ; instrumentation ; Adult ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hip Joint ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Sound

Recent studies have revealed temporal waveform envelope cues as a function of time having significant influence on tone recognition in continuous interleaved sampling (CIS) of cochlear implants. In this study, temporal cues of speech signal have been modulated so that to different tones have nearly the same temporal waveform envelope. The processing signal is named modulated signal. The modulated signals and original signals are processed through software emulations of cochlear-implant signal processors. The recognition score of the modulated signals and originals are compared. The result indicates that temporal cues have great influence on tone recognition, but spectral cues are the principal factor determining the identification of tones.
Acoustic Stimulation ; instrumentation ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cochlear Implants ; Cues ; Deafness ; therapy ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Pitch Perception ; physiology ; Speech Acoustics ; Speech Perception