A real-time digital speech processing system for an auditory prosthesis

A fully programmable digital speech-processing system for multichannel electrical stimulation of the cochlea is described. The system consists of laboratory testing station as well as a battery-powered portable processing unit, both of which use the Texas Instrument 320C25 signal processing chip. The laboratory station uses a Microvax II equipped with the TI signal-processing chip on a custom-built coprocessing board to combine the capability of real-time speech analysis and coding with the ability for real-time adaptation of processing algorithms to individual cochlear implant patients. The portable speech processor is a low-power (0.8-W) unit designed to run algorithms that were tested and customized with the laboratory station. An example application of the system is discussed