Apparatus and method for recording the shape of an ear section

US7995214B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. · SG

Inventors

• Frank Forster · Oberkirch, DE
• Rudolf Holzner · Altdorf, DE
• Martin Kunz · Weil am Rhein, DE
• Uwe Rass · Nuremberg, DE
• Anton Schick · Taufkirchen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 27, 2010
• Grant date: Aug 9, 2011
• Expiry date: Jul 27, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04R25/658
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An apparatus for recording a shape of a section of the human ear is provided. The apparatus has a recording device for recording a spatial shape of a first and a second subsection of the section and for recording a position or a variable representing the position of the first and the second subsection relative to a predetermined optical feature of the section. The apparatus has an evaluation device for obtaining shape information about the section by combination of the shapes of the subsections based on the recorded positions or the variables representing the respective position. This enables a number of individual images to be joined together into a three-dimensional map based on natural features in the auditory canal, such as skin flecks or veins for example.