Audiology
One of the new working fields of the group is focussed on the audiology domain. The main purpose of this line of research is to serve as a support system for the evaluation of patients during the course of an audiometry. An audiometry is a typical hearing test to measure the hearing thresholds, and therefore, assess and diagnose the hearing of a patient.
Hearing tests require collaboration and interaction with the patient. To perform this test, the patient needs to wear some headphones connected to the audiometer. The expert will send pure tones at different intensities and frequencies through this device. Meanwhile, the patient should raise his hand anytime he notices the sound. The execution of these tests are videotaped for later analysis.
Dataset
The VAST: Video Audiometry Sequence Test database is a set of video sequences of different patients recorded during the performance of the pure tone audiometry tests. The dataset includes a total of 11 video sequences with a duration ranging from 4 to 8 min. Video sequences were recorded in high resolution (1080×1920 pixels) with a frame rate of 25 FPS (frames per second). The scene of acquisition of the video sequences is quite simple, the video camera is located behind the audiologist (the audiologist is sitting in front of the patient) and the scene recorded shows the patient’s face and the audiometer.
If you are interested in using the VAST video database, please send an email to: mortega@udc.es and you will receive an authentication password to access the database. This is intended for statistical purposes only, no private data or fee is required. If you use this image set for your work, please include a reference of VAST in it.
Collaborations
Main publications
- A. Fernández, M. Ortega, B. Cancela, M. G. Penedo, C. Vazquez, LM Gigirey, «Automatic processing of audiometry sequences for objective screening of hearing loss», Expert Systems with Applications, DOI 10.1016/j.eswa.2012.05.015, 2012. (pending of publication).
- A. Fernández, M. Ortega, B. Cancela, M. G. Penedo, C. Vazquez, LM Gigirey, «Measuring response times to auditory stimuli during an audiometry», 4th International Symposium on Applied Sciences in Biomedical and Communication Technologies (ISABEL 2011), Barcelona, Spain, October 2011.
- A. Fernández, M. Ortega, M. G. Penedo, B. Cancela, LM Gigirey, C. Vazquez, «Automatic analysis of the patient’s conscious responses to the emission of auditory stimuli during the performance of an audiometry», International Conference on Digital Image Computing: Techniques and Applications (DICTA), 291-296, Noosa, Australia, December 2011.