Call for Participation in Developing the IEEE P2650™ Standard for Pre-Screening Audiometric Systems

The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) in conjunction with the  IEEE EMBS Society invites all interested parties to notify if they wish to actively participate in the development of IEEE P2650™ Standard For Enabling Mobile Device Platforms To Be Used As Pre-Screening Audiometric Systems.

The IEEE P2650 standard will define the performance, interoperability and validation requirements of a mobile device platform that typically consists of a mobile phone device in conjunction with a portable or wearable device and associated software, to be used as an audiometric pre-screening device for individuals. 

The requirements relate to enhancing or adapting the usage of existing mobile platforms along with linked portable & wearable devices to enable first level of screening for individuals with hearing impairment. 

Currently, screening and diagnosis of hearing impairment is performed by trained Audiologists and/or Clinicians using specialized Audiometric equipment like Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR), Oto-Acoustic Emissions (OAE) and Audiometers. These equipment need a specialized sound-treated chamber and are expensive to procure and operate. Hence, this limits their Availability, Accessibility and Affordability (3A’s) in emerging economies. 

In order to address these challenges, pre-screening devices that leverage on the highly accepted mobile phones and related hardware platforms, in these economies, are proposed to be developed. These will help in large-scale, first level screening of potential persons with hearing impairment in the larger population and funnel them to diagnostic facilities on a need basis. 

This standard is intended to provide guidance for product manufacturers to develop such pre-screening devices and for government, institutional, and end purchasers, who wish to evaluate and purchase these devices for audiometric pre-screening services. 

Product manufacturers may also use it to earn recognition in the consumer and healthcare market, recognizing that certain criteria may not be applicable to all types of purchasers. This standard shall be updated and revised on a periodic basis to continue to set a higher performance standard for leadership products. 

Stakeholders for this standard include people with Hearing impairments, Audiologists, Clinicians, Care providers for the hearing impaired that also includes Family, Teachers and Therapists, Audiometric equipment and hearing aid manufacturers, Mobile phone and accessories’ manufacturers, Signal processing and related software developers, Disability advocacy organizations, purchasers, users, resellers, retailers, representatives of government agencies, academic experts, and the general public. 

Your active participation and technical contributions will be instrumental in developing a standard of high technical qualityPARTICIPATION

If you would like to join the IEEE P2650 Working Group (WG), kindly submit the following information to: 

Mohan Kumar R., WG Chair,
mohan.k.rajagopal@ieee.org


Please include in your email: 

1. Your name and email address 

2. Name of your employer 

3. If you are a consultant, the name of the client(s) who will be supporting your activities 

4. Which of the following interest categories you belong to: Persons with hearing disabilitiesEnd-users of audiometric devices Producers of end products within the scope of the standard and their trade associations Suppliers and their trade associationsOther types of businesses commercially engaged with the productGovernmental agenciesNon-governmental disability advocacy organizationsInstitutional purchasers  Academics and Subject Matter ExpertsPublic or other