GSI is pleased to discuss the new updates to the GSI Pello firmware V2.5 in this blog. With these latest updates, the Pello has a lot of new features that will allow for more tests, faster transitions, and general improvements overall. The five things you need to know are discussed below.
Hardware Updates
There are a number of hardware updates made to the Pello. Most of these are not visible but will be experienced in the operation. Faster startup time, faster test transitions, and updated resolution on the display screen are some of the benefits to these updates.
Software Updates
There is a new configuration application companion software included in the latest update to the Pello. It is possible to have more than one configuration application installed on your computer at the same time, so it’s important to ensure you are using the compatible version. To check the configuration application, press the “About” icon in the upper right corner and the version will be displayed in a pop-up window. The configuration application version will match the firmware version of your Pello which is found by pressing the configure button on the front panel of the instrument.
New Features
There are several new features in the Pello update that will make testing even more flexible and seamless than before. First, we have added a couple of new symbols for bone conduction testing. Bone unspecified is a symbol that is used when you are testing using the bone oscillator and want to indicate that the better ear responded to the stimulus – not ear specific. To insert a bone unspecified symbol, which looks like an upward carrot symbol (ᶺ), press the “clear” button. To insert a bone unspecified no response symbol, press “clear” and “incorrect” at the same time. GSI has also added a VT, or Vibrotactile, symbol to indicate when a patient “feels” the stimulus rather than hears it. To insert the VT, press the “correct/start” button. This symbol can be used with bone conduction AND air conduction testing. Next, there is a new settings menu on the tone test type screen. From the tone settings menu, you can define the following settings: Sound field symbol color (select whether you want to use black symbols or red and blue symbols for speakers, HA, and CI testing), bone symbol connection (can be set to on or off), audiogram graph orientation, masked threshold options, and dB step size. Finally, there are updates in the speech test type. In addition to faster transitions, you are able to store an unlimited number of speech tests and eight will be displayed per ear. The auto play mode can now be selected using the word navigation display menu option and you can implement an autoplay word limit.
ACT (Audible Contrast Threshold) Test
The latest version of the Pello with the Speech Plus License gives you access to the ACT™ test. This is a new clinical test that measures how well a patient can discriminate between modulated noise and non-modulated noise, or binaural spectro-temporal modulation sensitivity. This measurement has strong correlations with aided speech-in-noise performance. The most exciting thing about this test is that it is a non-language-based speech-in-noise test, so patients who are not good candidates for traditional speech-in-noise tests due to language or memory barriers may be able to successfully complete this testing to add more information to the diagnosis and recommendations. There is more information on the ACT test here.
Less Obvious Enhancements
There are some very obvious changes in the Pello update, but there are also some “behind-the-scenes” enhancements that you may or may not notice. These changes will make testing more flexible and seamless. These include the following: Weber Test with new symbols that can be added to the audiogram, the ability to load previous sessions, new making level indicator lines, masking table level color, connected full audiogram from 125-20 kHz, and new printing options.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
There are many resources available, with information about the GSI Pello here and an AudiologyOnline webinar open for registration.
Laura Prigge, AuD is the Manager of Clinical Education and Training at GSI. Laura received her Doctorate of Audiology degree from AT Still University, a Master's of Arts in Audiology from UCONN and a Bachelor's of Science degree in Communication Disorders from Western Illinois University. Laura’s 20+ years of experience includes providing manufacturing support for a leading hearing aid manufacturer as well as technical audiology training and support for an international audiologic equipment company. Prior to that, she managed education and training at another hearing aid manufacturer and conducted audiologic evaluations on children, adults, and geriatric patients at a retail hearing center.