IMPROVED ARTIFICIAL EAR AND AUDITORY CANAL SYSTEM AND MEANS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME

摘要

A laminated artificial pinna having a concha, fossa and auditory canal. The auditory canal (23) is constructed and arranged relative to the concha (12), so that the distance (A) (see figure 7) from the centre of the entrance of the auditory canal (23) to the rear wall of the concha (12) lies within the range of 15 mm to 20 mm, the distance (B) (see figure 8) from the centre of the entrance of the auditory canal to the concha floor lies within the range of 9 mm to 15 mm, and the alignment of the turning point (C) (see figure 9) with the centre of the entrance of the auditory canal (23) is substantially horizontal. The pinna is made with the help of an encapsulated model of a human pinna. A cross-sectional shape is revealed by incrementally machining the encapsulated model away and of each revealed cross-sectional shape an image is taken. The image is used to produce a replica of the cross section out of sheets of material which are assembled in a stack to form the laminated model of the pinna.