MED-EL

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]

MED-EL
Private company
Industrymedical device
Founded1990
FounderIngeborg Hochmair 
HeadquartersInnsbruck, Austria
Key people
Ingeborg Hochmair CEO & CTO
ProductsHearing implants
Number of employees
1,500[1]
Websitewww.medel.com

Background

Austrian scientists Ingeborg Hochmair and Erwin Hochmair developed the first passive single-channel cochlear implant.[3] The implantation of this device took place in 1977 in Vienna and was a milestone in the treatment of deafness .[4] 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.[5]

Research and development

In August 2013, a new building was inaugurated specifically designed for research & development.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8] In 2013, Ingeborg Hochmair received the prestigious Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award in New York for her part in developing the modern cochlear implant.[9]

References
  1. "MED-EL Founders Nominated for European Inventor Award 2014". Reuters UK. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014.
  2. "The importance of being flexible" (PDF). Lasker Foundation.
  3. Henkel, Gretchen (1 April 2013). "History of the Cochlear Implant". ENT Today. The Triological Society. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  4. "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.
  5. "Prof.Geoffrey Ball". Life Award Website.
  6. "MED-EL Research Center". DIN A4. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  7. "MED-EL Founders Nominated for European Inventor Award 2014". Reuters UK. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014.
  8. "Fakultät für Medizin der TU München: Ehrendoktorwürde für Pioniere der Gehörlosen-Technik". IDW Online. 16 March 2004.
  9. "Ingeborg Hochmair: The modern cochlear implant — global use and challenges". Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

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