Looking for questions
Here’s an idea. Collect the problems in audiology that need AI solutions (Instead of solutions looking for a problem, we are looking for genuine problems looking for a solution.)
Therefore, we are looking forward to collecting questions that are relevant according to patient organizations, clinical audiologists, etc. We still have to find an efficient way to collect responses. For the time being, you can provide them by responding with a comment below or by sending an e-mail to researchagenda@computationalaudiology.com.
Goal: prepare a research agenda for AI & Audiology
Strategy:
- We prepared a list of suggested problems, and will ask people/organizations for their opinion.
- We will organize a call for problem statements to collect new perspectives (see below)
Shortlist of main problems in Audiology where AI might help (concept, version April 19, 2020):
- Access to hearing healthcare (>450 million hearing impaired people)
- Lack of experts
- Too expensive hearing aids and cochlear implants
- Self-fitting of devices is too complicated yet for the end-user
- Understanding speech in noise remains a problem even with state-of-the-art treatment (cocktail party effect)
- Solutions are not tailored to individual needs (precision medicine)
- Prevention of hearing loss by warning for noise exposure
- counseling and explanation of hearing disability (augmented by AI techniques / virtual reality)
- Time available for testing in a clinical is limited (e-Audiology/connected hearing healthcare)
- Uptake and continuing use of hearing aids following supply
- Managing expectations about hearing aids
Call for problem statements (PICO)
- Patient group that experiences the problem
- Intervention / desired solution?
- Control: How can we define success?
- Outcome: What is the desired representation of the result?
Example: problem statement
- P: people with profound hearing loss who are not able to fully understand speech.
- I: speech to text apps
- C: correctly identified words
- Outcome: improved communication abilities in daily life
Example solution: Gallaudet university collaborated with google to design google live transcribe.
If you have suggestions on what problems researchers in computational audiology should devote time to, please respond with a comment below, using the PICO format or by sending an e-mail to researchagenda@computationalaudiology.com.
Thanks in advance,
Jan-Willem Wasmann and Dave Moore