Prof. Dr. Norbert Dillier

 

Main Goals, Keywords

Physiology and pathology of the human auditory system. Diagnostic and rehabilitative applications of modern electronics and digital signal processing in audiology. Auditory prostheses (Cochlear and Auditory Brainstem Implants, middle ear implants, digital hearing aids).

Group Members

1 senior research fellow, 2 postdoctoral fellows, 3 PhD students, 1 engineer, 2 audiological specialists

Previous and Current Research

The focus of previous and current research projects was to better understand and improve the function of auditory prostheses such as cochlear implants, auditory brainstem implants as well as conventional and implantable hearing aids. The main goals are to enhance the speech discrimination performance, especially in noisy environments and to improve the sound quality for music perception with these devices. New methods for programming and speech processor fitting especially for the very young children using objective electrophysiologic measurement procedures are a major area of research. Other areas of research are the use of bilateral electrical or the combined electrical acoustical stimulation for improved localization and speech recognition in noise prostheses.

 

Figure: Illustration of the setup for intracochlear recordings of electrically evoked compound action potentials (NRT, Neural Response Telemetry). Either of the 22 electrodes may be selected for stimulation or recording through software control.

The investigation of the mechanical properties of the outer and middle ear using laser Doppler vibrometry and finite element modeling aims to further the basic understanding of these structures and to develop tools for better middle ear prostheses.

Future Projects

We are interested in aspects of music perception of patients with Cochlear Implants and are working on methods to improve the quality of music provided through these implantable auditory prostheses. We are also interested in simulating realistic acoustical environments for evaluation of algorithms and signal processing systems for the hard of hearing and the profoundly deaf.

Techniques and Equipment

• Audiological test and measurement setups for clinical and experimental studies
• Free field testing setup for localization and speech in noise experiments
• Software tools and expertise in software applications for audiological purposes

Selected Publications

• Luts, H., Eneman, K., Wouters, J., Schulte, M., Vormann, M., Buechler, M., Dillier, N., Houben, R., Dreschler, W.A., Froehlich, M., Puder, H., Grimm, G., Hohmann, V., Leijon, A., Lombard, A., Mauler, D., Spriet, A. Multicenter evaluation of signal enhancement algorithms for hearing aids. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 127(3): 1491-1505 (2010).
  
• Lai, W.K., Dillier, N., Weber, B.P., Lenarz, T., Battmer, R., Gantz, B., Brown, C., Cohen, N., Waltzman, S., Skinner, M., Holden, L., Cowan, R., Busby, P., Killian, M. TNRT profiles with the Nucleus Research Platform 8 system. International Journal of Audiology, 48(9): 645-654 (2009).
• Lai, W.; Dillier, N. Neural adaptation and the ECAP response threshold: a pilot study. Cochlear Implants International, 10 (Suppl 1): 63-67 (2009).

Selected Lectures, Seminars or Colloquia

MAS (master of advanced sciences) course in medical physics: lecture of medical acoustics, colloquium, exercises in biomedical engineering, postgraduate course ZIHP “Sensory system: How we hear and see”. Bachelor/Master/PhD theses for students of the University and ETH of Zürich (biomedical engineering, informatics, biology, medicine)

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation, CTI, EU, industrial partners

URL

www.uzh.ch/orl/lea/lea.html