@inproceedings{f03edaf46b8e4417942398a60ded57ff,
title = "Speech enhancement based on neural networks applied to cochlear implant coding strategies",
abstract = "Traditionally, algorithms that attempt to significantly improve speech intelligibility in noise for cochlear implant (CI) users have met with limited success, particularly in the presence of a fluctuating masker. In the present study, a speech enhancement algorithm integrating an artificial neural network (NN) into CI coding strategies is proposed. The algorithm decomposes the noisy input signal into time-frequency units, extracts a set of auditory-inspired features and feeds them to the NN to produce an estimation of which CI channels contain more perceptually important information (higher signal-to-noise ratio, SNR). This estimate is then used accordingly to retain a subset of channels for electrical stimulation, as in traditional n-of-m coding strategies. The proposed algorithm was tested with 10 normal-hearing participants listening to CI noise-vocoder simulations against a conventional Wiener filter based enhancement algorithm. Significant improvements in speech intelligibility in stationary and fluctuating noise were found over both unprocessed and Wiener filter processed conditions.",
keywords = "Cochlear implants, machine learning, neural networks, noise reduction, speech enhancement",
author = "Federico Bolner and Tobias Goehring and Jessica Monaghan and {Van Dijk}, Bas and Jan Wouters and Stefan Bleeck",
year = "2016",
month = may,
day = "18",
doi = "10.1109/ICASSP.2016.7472933",
language = "English",
series = "International Conference on Acoustics Speech and Signal Processing ICASSP",
publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)",
pages = "6520--6524",
booktitle = "2016 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, ICASSP 2016 - Proceedings",
address = "United States",
note = "41st IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, ICASSP 2016 ; Conference date: 20-03-2016 Through 25-03-2016",
}