Peak_Finding_Toolbox

The Peak Finding Toolbox was developed during auditory signal processing research at the University of Maryland. Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) measurements — short electrical signals recorded from the scalp in response to sound — require precise peak annotation across five clinical waves (I-V) to be clinically useful. Existing tools were either proprietary, inflexible, or required significant manual annotation.

The toolbox provides configurable adaptive thresholding algorithms for automated ABR wave detection, with support for the SOFA (Spatially Oriented Format for Acoustics) standard used in HRTF spatial audio research. The design philosophy: accurate enough for clinical research use, accessible enough for researchers who are not Python experts — clear interfaces, documented parameters, and sensible defaults.

The toolbox is also used for general audio onset detection, where the same thresholding and peak-picking algorithms apply beyond the neurological signal domain.