GB2330445A

GB2330445A - Communication and reproduction apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2330445A
Application number: GB9721633A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Massoud Keyvan Fouladi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-10-14
Filing date: 1997-10-14
Publication date: 1999-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2017-10-14
Also published as: GB2330445B; GB9721633D0

Abstract

Apparatus 8 comprises a headphone unit 10 and a microphone unit 28. An infrared transmitter in cassette player 16 sends signals to headphones 12 so that music played by player 16 can be heard through the headphones 12. When apparatus 8 is used during eye surgery, the patient wears the headphone unit 10 and the surgeon wears the microphone unit 28. The patient listens to music via the cassette player 16 and, if the surgeon wishes to communicate with the patient, then on utterance of a trigger word sensed by a sensor in box 32, instructions to the patient picked up by microphone 30 can be transmitted as an infrared signal received by receiver 26. The receiver 26 then sends a signal to activate the transmitter in box 22 to send a signal to cassette player 16 to pause the tape and the patient can hear the surgeon on the headphones.

Description

COMMUNICATION APPARATUS The invention relates to communication apparatus.

In the field of medical surgery, many operations which used to be carried out under a general anaesthetic are now carried out under local anaesthetic. One example is in eye surgery. With the patient under local anaesthetic, the surgeon can ask the patient to look in a particular direction during surgery. In the situation where the surgeon is teaching, the patient will hear everything that the surgeon says thereby causing the patient to experience stress. In addition, overhearing any communication between the surgeon and his theatre staff can also be stressful.

Background music has been used as a method of reducing stress, but if this is loud enough to be effective it can make communication between the surgeon and patient difficult.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus comprising headphones for a single user, a microphone for another user, communication means for communicating signals between the microphone and headphones, means to connect the headphones to a source of audio signals and at least one control unit, which can be used to prevent or override the audio signal from being emitted from the headphones or reduce the volume level of the audio signals being emitted from the headphones.

In this way, in the example of eye surgery, the patient can wear the headphones and listen to the radio or pre-recorded music for example on music cassette or compact disk, and if the surgeon wishes to talk to the patient he can use the control unit to cut or reduce the volume level and what he says will be reproduced through the headphones. The surgeon does not hear the music, which only comes through the headphones, while the patient can have the music as loud as they wish knowing that the surgeon will be able to communicate with them as necessary. The patient can of course talk to the surgeon normally.

A plurality of control units may be provided. In this way, if the patient needs to communicate with the surgeon, then the patient can cut the music to make it easier for the patient to hear what he is saying. There is otherwise a tendency for the patient to shout over the volume of the music which only he can hear.

Similarly, a plurality of microphones may be provided. Thus the patient may have a microphone to amplify his own voice to the headphones. Even with the music cut, the patient's voice will sound quiet to him because of the sound insulating properties of the headphones. By amplifying the patient's voice he will tend to speak at normal volume.

The communication means may take any suitable form. Thus, the communication means may take the form of a wire linking the microphone and headphones. This wire may get in the way of the surgeon however and thus be dangerous. It is therefore preferred that the communication means should be of a cordless type and the communication means may comprise an infrared transmitter connected to the microphone and an infrared receiver connected to the headphones. It will be important to ensure that the infrared frequency selected does not interfere with the infrared frequencies of any other equipment which the surgeon may be using.

The or each control unit may be manually operated but in a preferred embodiment the or each control unit is voice activated preferably by a trigger word for starting and stopping. In this way, if the surgeon or patient needs to say something urgently they do not have to reach for a switch for example but can simply speak immediately knowing that the music will be cut or reduced in volume and hence they will be heard.

The or each control unit is preferably arranged to entirely prevent the audio signals from being emitted from the headphones.

The or each control unit may act at any stage from the audio source to the headphones. In a preferred embodiment, where the audio source is of the kind which plays pre-recorded material, the or each control unit is arranged to pause the audio source.

Thus, for example a music cassette may be temporarily halted while the surgeon speaks to the patient and then re-started from the same place by using the control unit. Alternatively the control unit may act to mute an amplification stage.

Switch means may be provided to reduce or prevent signals being communicated by the communication means. This switch means may be manually operated or alternatively may be voice-activated by voice volume or by trigger word. Where the switch means is manually operated or by means of a trigger word, the surgeon can talk to, for example, pupils or other surgeons without the patient overhearing what he is saying. Where the switch means is activated by voice volume the patient will not hear all of the quieter noises in the background when the surgeon is not speaking because these will be below the volume threshold to activate the communication means.

Preferably only the minimum of electrical components is contained in the earpieces of the headphones. When a patient's eye is washed, water can spill down the side of a patient's head and onto the earpieces. Preferably at least the earpieces of the headphones are at least water resistant. For reasons of hygiene the headphones are preferably sterilisable. The open tube type of headphones is used in one embodiment, and could be sterilisable or simply disposable.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig 1 is a schematic representation of the apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention, and, Fig 2 is a schematic representation of the apparatus of the second embodiment of the invention.

The apparatus 8 of the first embodiment comprises a headphone unit 10 and a microphone unit 28.

The headphone unit 10 comprises a pair of headphones 12 together with a stereo cassette player 16. A infra red transmitter in the cassette player 16 sends signals to the headphones 12 in known fashion so that the music played by the cassette player 16 can be heard through the headphones 12. A cord 18 leads from each earpiece 20 of the headphones 12 and connects to a box 22. The box 22 mounts a microphone 24 and an infrared transmitter to transmit to an infrared receiver on the cassette player 16 to pause the playing of a cassette. The box 22 also houses a transmitter to enable signals incoming from the microphone 24 to be amplified and supplied through the cords 18 to the earpieces 20 of the headphones 12 to be replayed to the patient. The box 22 also includes an infrared receiver 26 to receive signals to the amplified and replayed through the headphones to the patient. The infrared transmitter 26 is also connected to the infrared transmitter in the box 22.

The microphone unit 28 comprises a microphone 30 mounted on a box 32 to which a cord loop 34 is connected. The cord loop 34 enables the unit 28 to be worn around the neck of a surgeon or other user. The box 32 mounts an infrared transmitter to transmit to the infrared receiver 26 of the headphone unit 10.

In use, for example in eye surgery, the patient will wear the headphone unit 10 and the surgeon will wear the microphone unit 28. The patient will turn on the tape player 16 and listen to a tape, which may be one brought in by the patient, during the surgery. If the surgeon wishes to communicate with the patient, for example, to ask him to look in a particular direction, then, upon saying a trigger word sensed by a sensor in the box 32, his instructions to the patient picked up by the microphone 30 will be transmitted as an infrared signal by the infrared transmitter in the box 32. The signal will be received by the infrared receiver 26 which will send a signal to activate the infrared transmitter in the box 22 to send a signal to the cassette player 16 to pause playing of the cassette. The signal will also be relayed through the earpieces 20 of the headphone unit 12 to be heard by the patient. The patient will therefore hear his music stop and will hear the voice of the surgeon. When the surgeon says a further trigger word, that is sensed and an infrared signal is sent from the transmitter in the box 22 to the cassette player 16 to release the pause function and resume playing of the tape.

When the patient wishes to speak, their voice is received by the microphone 24 and amplified to be relayed through the earpieces 20 of the headphone unit 12 to the patient. The surgeon, who is not wearing headphones, will hear the patient's voice directly. The patient will also hear his own voice at normal volume and so will not feel the need to shout. The incoming signal to the microphone 24 activates the infrared transmitter in the box 22 to operate the pause function of the cassette player 16. The absence of a signal to the microphone 24 is sensed to result in a further signal being transmitted to the cassette player 16 to resume playing the cassette.

Clearly any of the infrared connections in this system could be replaced by wires. In a simplification of the embodiment the microphone 24 maybe emitted. In that case the surgeon may have a manual switch such as a foot pedal to manually operate the transmitter in the box 22 to pause the cassette player 16 or to operate the cassette player 16 directly so that the patient and surgeon can communicate without the music. In a further embodiment, an incoming signal may not pause the cassette player 26 but may mute the signal from it or reduce the signal volume either at the cassette player 16 itself or by operation upon the signal before it is broadcast through the earpieces 20. The microphone unit 28 may include a manual switch to prevent transmission of an incoming voice signal to the headphone unit 10 rather than the sensor and trigger word system so that the surgeon can talk to other people without being heard by the patient.

The second embodiment is shown in fig 2. The apparatus 50 of the second embodiment comprises a pair of headphones 52 plugged into an amplifier 54. The amplifier is fed by a cassette player 56 as audio source. A foot pedal 58 is also connected to the amplifier 54 and a microphone 60 is connected to the amplifier 54.

In use the patient listens to the music from his cassette via the cassette player 56, amplifier 54 and headphones 52. When the surgeon wishes to talk to him, he treads on the foot pedal 58 which switches the amplifier input from the cassette player 56 input to the microphone 60 input so that the patient hears the music cut out then hears the surgeon's voice through the headphones. When the surgeon releases the foot pedal 60 the patient is reconnected to the cassette player 56.

Claims

CLAIMS:-

1. Apparatus comprising headphones (or headphone unit) for a single user, a microphone for another user, communication means for communicating signals between the microphone and headphones, means to connect the headphones to a source of audio signals and at least one control unit, which can be used to prevent or override the audio signal from being emitted from the headphones or reduce the volume level of the audio signals being emitted from the headphones.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 having a plurality of control units.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 having a plurality of microphones.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the communication means is the form of a wire linking the microphone and headphones.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the communication means is of a cordless type.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which the communication means comprises an infrared transmitter connected to the first mentioned microphone and an infrared receiver connected to the headphones.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the or each control unit is manually operated.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the or each control unit is voice activated.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in which the or each control unit is voice activated by a trigger word for starting and stopping.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the or each control unit is arranged to entirely prevent audio signals from being emitted from the headphones.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the or each control unit can act at any stage from the audio source to the headphones.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11 in which where the audio source is of a kind which plays pre-recorded material, the or each control unit is arranged to pause the audio source.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 in which the control unit can act to mute an amplification stage.

14. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which switch means is provided to reduce or prevent signals being communicated by the communication means.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14 in which the switch means is manually operated.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14 in which the switch means is voiceactivated by voice volume or by trigger word.

17. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which only the minimum of electrical components is contained in the earpieces of the headphones.

18. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which at least the earpieces of the headphones are at least water resistant.

19. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the headphones are sterilisable or disposable.

20. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the headphones are of an open tube type.

21. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURE 1 or FIGURE 2 of the accompanying drawings.