[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Sue_Becker.jpg” caption=”Suzanna Becker, a professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, holds a model of the inner ear. Photo by Jean Burrows.”]The Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc. is investing $100,000 to develop an innovative hearing aid technology, called the NeuroCompensator. This investment, made through OCE's Market Readiness program, allows McMaster and its industrial partner, CAYCe Medical, to continue their collaborative research efforts aimed at preparing the NeuroCompensator technology for commercial deployment.

“An investment of this magnitude by OCE is a strong vote of confidence in the commercial potential of the NeuroCompensator,” said Gay Yuyitung, industrial liaison manager in McMaster's Office of Research Contracts and Intellectual Property (ORCIP).

The NeuroCompensator technology was developed by Suzanna Becker, a professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. This technology grew out of earlier research performed at McMaster by Ian Bruce and Simon Haykin, along with Becker. In 2003, ORCIP filed patents based on their original research.

“Having a strong patent gave our funding application a tremendous boost,” said Elsie Quaite-Randall, executive director of ORCIP. “The patent is critical in making this a viable commercial endeavor.”

Traditional hearing aids generally amplify sounds based on the frequencies the user is hearing at a reduced level. In contrast, the NeuroCompensator uses a sophisticated model of the human ear to reinforce sound based on what the damaged parts of the user's hearing would have heard.

This technology aims to take into account the interference of multiple sound frequencies, aiming to improve hearing aid performance in noisy situations, such as crowds, where traditional hearing aids have difficulty.

Becker will use this OCE investment to employ a software programmer who will develop the underlying algorithms, help test the model and refine the NeuroCompensator technology.

“We are basically getting this hearing aid strategy ready to go to market,” said Becker. “Most scientists aspire to make a key contribution at some point in their career that will truly make a difference. For me, the Neurocompensator could be it. There are millions of people worldwide with hearing impairments who could benefit from hearing aids. I'm therefore extremely eager to commercialize this technology.”

Once this work is complete, CAYCe Medical plans to proceed with clinical trials. Aproximately 10 percent of the population has a hearing impairment and roughly 20 percent of those with hearing impairment use a hearing aid.

“Many hearing aid users are not satisfied with the current technology,” said Philippe Pango, president of CAYCe Medical, which is working with Becker to commercialize this technology. “OCE's support of the NeuroCompensator will help us produce better hearing aids, improving the lives of those with hearing impairments.”