MED-EL
 | |
| Private company | |
| Industry | medical device |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Innsbruck, Austria |
Key people | Ingeborg Hochmair CEO & CTO |
| Products | Hearing implants |
Number of employees | 1,500 [1] |
| Website | www.medel.com |
MED-EL is a global technology company that researches in the field of hearing loss and develops and manufactures implantable hearing systems. These include cochlear implants, middle ear implants, bone conduction hearing implants, electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant systems and auditory brainstem implants. The company is headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria and was founded in 1990. MED-EL is a private company and is managed by its co-owner Ingeborg Hochmair, who is an internationally acclaimed scientist and researcher.[2]
Background
Austrian scientists Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair developed the world’s first micro-electronic multichannel cochlear implant. The implantation of this device took place in 1977 in Vienna and was a milestone in the treatment of deafness .[3] After further developing the technology the Hochmair’s went on to found MED-EL, in Innsbruck, Austria in 1990. Since 2003, the American physiologist and award-winning inventor Geoffrey R. Ball has become CTO of the company’s business unit VIBRANT MED-EL.[4]
Awards
Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair were awarded in 2004 the Honorary Doctorate for Medicine from Technical University of Munich as “Pioneers of the hearing impaired technology” for developing the first multichannel cochlear implant with hybrid technology.[5] In 2013, Ingeborg Hochmair received the prestigious Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award in New York [6] for developing the modern cochlear implant.
Research & Development
The area of research & development is of great importance to MED-EL, not least because Ingeborg Hochmair is not only the company’s CEO but also CTO. Since its founding, MED-EL has continuously invested in research and development. In August 2013, a new building was inaugurated specifically designed for research & development.[7]
MED-EL World’s First:[8]
- 1977 Multi-channel micro-electronic CI
- 1991 BTE (Behind-the-Ear) processor
- 1994 Electrode array capable of stimulating entire length of cochlea
- 1996 Bilateral implantation for purpose of binaural hearing
- 1996 Miniaturised multichannel implant (4 mm thin)
- 1999 Modular BTE processor design making the body-worn processor obsolete
- 2005 EAS System integrating electric acoustic stimulation
- 2006 Switch-free processor design featuring remote control
- 2006 FLEX Electrode array developed specifically for the most atraumatic insertion
- 2006 FineHearing™ technology providing the fine structure information of sound
- 2007 FLEXEAS indicated for partial deafness
- 2008 VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE® Middle Ear Implant System with expanded indication for conductive and mixed hearing loss
- 2009 Middle Ear Implant System indicated for children
- 2012 BONEBRIDGE Active Bone conduction Implant System [9]
- 2013 Launch of the RONDO®, the first single-unit processor for cochlear implants.[10]
- 2013 MED-EL receives CE mark approval for marketing cochlear implants for the indication of Single-Sided Deafness in children and adults as the first hearing implant company.
- 2014: SYNCHRONY Cochlea Implant - MRI safe at 3,0 Tesla for patients without magnet removal [11]
MED-EL operates in over 100 countries worldwide including Europe, America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The headquarters of the company are in Innsbruck, Austria.[12]
External links
- MED-EL Website
- HearPeers Website
- European Patent Organization
- Cochlear Implant Online
- Microtia Website
- Research Gate
- Lasker Foundation
References
- ↑ "MED-EL Founders Nominated for European Inventor Award 2014". Reuters UK. 29 April 2014.
- ↑ "The importance of being flexible" (PDF). Lasker Foundation.
- ↑ "Journey to Developing MED-EL's Cochlear Implant: Interview with Dr. Ingeborg and Professor Erwin Hochmair, Founders of MED-EL". Cochlear Implant Online. 19 December 2012.
- ↑ "Prof.Geoffrey Ball". Life Award Website.
- ↑ "Fakultät für Medizin der TU München: Ehrendoktorwürde für Pioniere der Gehörlosen-Technik". IDW Online. 16 March 2004.
- ↑ "Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award". Lasker Foundation.
- ↑ "MED-EL Research Center". DIN A4.
- ↑ "The Hearing Implant Company". MED-EL.
- ↑ "MED-EL Introduces Bonebridge Active Bone Conduction Implant System". Hearing Review.
- ↑ "World’s First Single-Unit Cochlear Implant Processor". Hearing HQ.
- ↑ "InSync with Natural Hearing". Audilogy Worldnews. 24 June 2014.
- ↑ "MED-EL Founders Nominated for European Inventor Award 2014". Reuters UK. 29 April 2014.
Coordinates: 47°15′45″N 11°22′26″E / 47.2625°N 11.3740°E