Tag Archives: Ponto 5 Mini

Help Patients Remotely with Ease

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Oticon RemoteCare for Oticon Medical

Are you finding that patients are more aware of and interested in remote care? Over this past year I think we can all agree that the demand for hybrid services to meet our patient’s needs has increased. The need for telehealth and remote care options continue to expand across many areas of healthcare, including audiology services. As part of our ongoing commitment to providing excellent customer care we are excited to bring you Oticon RemoteCare for Oticon Medical.

With the launch of the Ponto™ 5 Mini, your patients now have the option to meet you online using this secure, convenient, and focused solution. Offering this value-added service to your clinical practice can enhance your clinical efficiency and provide your patients with increased access to your services and expertise—saving time and resources.

Genie Medical BAHS fitting software makes it all possible

Using our unique and intuitive fitting software, Genie Medical BAHS 2021.2, clinicians can provide follow-up fittings with ease.  In fact, all fitting adjustments can be completed remotely except for running feedback manager.  So, while your patient sits in the comfort of their home, you can optimize their programs, counsel them on the use and care of their sound processor, complete BC In-situ measurements, adjust the gain, create specialized programs, and much more! The clinical and patient requirements are few and it’s easy to get started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In summary, Oticon RemoteCare for Oticon Medical is a new resource in Genie Medical BAHS that works with the Oticon RemoteCare App* to provide remote follow-up appointments. This distinctive service is only compatible with the new Ponto 5 Mini Sound Processor. Providing secure video and text chatting, this service supports but does not replace the audiologist. In fact, it helps patients and hearing healthcare providers stay connected beyond the constraints of distance, time, and resources.

Do you have bone conduction patients who you would like to offer Oticon RemoteCare as an option? To learn more about the many exciting features in the Ponto 5 Mini and its many clinical benefits, including Oticon RemoteCare, please contact your regional Clinical Specialist.

About the Author

Gail Leininger, Au.D., CCC-A is an audiologist who has worked with implantable technologies for over twenty years. She is an Auditory Technical Specialist for Oticon Medical.

For more information on RemoteCare, please visit: https://www.oticon.com/support/remote-care

 

*RemoteCare App is available in the App® Store and Google Play™

Important Notice
Remote care is not a substitute for an in person fitting of a hearing aid. Providers must schedule in person appointments with their patients to confirm the fitting settings as soon as practical. RemoteCare is not a substitute for clinical judgment and does not make clinical determinations. Providers are responsible for programming the appropriate settings in RemoteCare pursuant to their own clinical judgment. Providers performing RemoteCare services must be licensed in the state in which the patient is located during the RemoteCare session or comply with the appropriate state’s telehealth rules during this global pandemic. It is solely the responsibility of the provider to determine and adhere to local licensing laws.

 

 

Introducing OpenSound Optimizer

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OpenSound Optimizer™ (OSO) is a technological first to detect and prevent feedback from occurring. It is a transformative and multi-patented technology that controls Feedback Shield LX.[1] It is a new first line of defense against feedback buildup, which allows the second line of defense, the updated underlying feedback management system, more time to be precisely deployed when it is needed.

How does OpenSound Optimizer work?

The new OpenSound Optimizer defies conventional technology with a new, unique, and patented approach to feedback management.  OSO is proactive and can detect and prevent audible feedback from occurring.

The OpenSound Optimizer uses spectro-temporal modulation (STM) to disrupt the positive loop gain and break a potential feedback buildup before it occurs. It is designed to work as a proactive system that prevents audible feedback from occurring by monitoring the microphone input sound in 28 frequency channels, 56,000 times per second. A soft and non-intrusive spectro-temporal modulation is briefly applied in select frequency channels where there is a potential for feedback[1] and this effectively stops feedback as we know it before it occurs.

Spectro-temporal modulations are modulations or patterns that change over time and across the 28 frequency channels. The modulations can be seen on a spectrogram as a striped pattern in certain frequency regions where dark stripes indicate areas of low energy (figure below). These stripes show that the output is very briefly reduced. The low energy areas are extremely short (16ms), and they are followed by short periods (16ms) of fully restored gain. One low energy and one high energy period is equal to one 32ms cycle. It typically takes around 60ms for audible feedback to be fully detected and prevented in the system, which is different than traditional hearing aids that typically take 500ms or more to eliminate audible feedback instability in dynamic environments.[1]

Spectrogram showing the patented breaker signal made using STM

Premium sound without audible feedback

The benefit is that patients can enjoy the full dynamics of sound without having to worry about any unwanted sound interference, because the OpenSound Optimizer technology prevents audible feedback before it occurs.[2]

Optimal gain throughout the day

Traditionally, in order to prevent feedback with conventional technology, the system is reactive to audible feedback and the gain on the device is lowered, which means less than ideal sound for the user due to reduced access to sounds. With OpenSound Optimizer, users now benefit from stable gain throughout the day with no audible feedback, as the feedback is mitigated before it is about to occur. This provides an overall improvement in sound quality due to the increase in headroom, the additional available stable gain, and prevention of whistling.

More sound to the brain – an impact beyond better hearing

With BrainHearing™ technologies such as OpenSound Navigator™ and OpenSound Optimizer, patients now have access to more sound and higher signal integrity than ever before. A study conducted by Oticon using OPN S hearing aids with OpenSound Optimizer[1,2] has demonstrated 30% more speech cues throughout the day, improvement in speech understanding and reduction in listening effort, due to its feedback management algorithm.

Ponto 5 Mini bone conduction hearing system features OSO

Powered by the Velox S™ platform, OpenSound Optimizer enables Ponto 5 Mini users with 6 dB more gain without the risk of feedback.[1] This unique approach to feedback gives users a stable speech signal and more sound dynamics in their daily life. The Ponto 5 Mini provides more sound to the brain and a better listening experience for patients.

Do you have patients who still haven’t experienced the benefits of OpenSound Navigator, OpenSound Optimizer and other BrainHearing technologies? To learn more about the revolutionary Ponto 5 Mini sound processor and its many features, we are offering a one-hour CEU course through Audiology Online on October 27, 2021 at 12 PM Eastern (please click through link to register). For brochures and a product demonstration contact your regional clinical specialist.

About the Author

Gail Leininger, Au.D., CCC-A is an audiologist who has worked with implantable technologies for over twenty years. She is an Auditory Technical Specialist for Oticon Medical.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

[1] Callaway 2019 INTRODUCTION TO OPENSOUND OPTIMIZER Oticon White Paper
[2] Data on file at Oticon Medical

Presidential Perspective

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Joys and Challenge of Overseeing a Business in Growth Mode

As I write this, I am overseeing the largest expansion of Oticon Medical US in our history. As you can imagine, this comes with its shares of joys and challenges as we blaze our way toward an exciting new future.

So, what’s going on? To start with, we are juggling three major overlapping product launches. One I’ve already shared—the premarket approval of cochlear implant sales in the US. The second, which I’m excited to share with you now, is the launch of the first style in our new family of bone anchored hearing systems, the Ponto™ 5 Mini (you’ll have to wait a bit more to hear about the third launch, but I promise you’re going to like it).

Introducing the Ponto 5 family of bone conduction hearing devices

If you haven’t read our press release yet, here is a rundown of what the Ponto 5 Mini has to offer. While it remains the world’s smallest and most discreet processor on the market, it also offers the same state-of-the-art reliability, durability, connectivity, and product quality our customers came to know and expect from Ponto 4. Additionally, Ponto 5 utilizes two of our proven BrainHearing™ technologies, the OpenSound Navigator™ and OpenSound Optimizer™ to provide wearers with greater access to sound than ever before. We confirmed this in a study that shows that these technologies improve speech understanding by 20 percent* and significantly reduce the listening effort needed to make sense of sound.[1] While traditional feedback systems have previously addressed feedback by reducing gain and removing the dynamics of sound, the OpenSound Optimizer analyzes amplified sound 56,000 times per second to detect and actually prevent audible feedback before it occurs.[2] Hearing care professionals no longer need to compromise on sound dynamics to reduce feedback and can fit Ponto 5 Mini wearers with up to 6 decibels (dB) more stable gain.

Raise your level of patient care with RemoteCare

Another unique feature of the Ponto 5 Mini is the introduction of the user-friendly Oticon RemoteCare platform, which allows wearers to have follow-up appointments and adjustments made remotely. Now, I know when audiology professionals see the words “remote care,” you might become worried that it means you will be expected to be on call 24/7. I want to assure you this is not the case at all! You will remain in full control of your schedule and appointments just as you do when arranging appointments with patients face-to-face. RemoteCare simply allows you to reduce the number of office visits for issues that can be easily remedied remotely, such as making tweaks to programs. The RemoteCare option is extremely beneficial for patients who either live far from your office, have busy schedules that make it hard for them to travel, or are too infirm to attend in-office appointments. And with ongoing concerns about Covid-19, it enables you to treat patients who otherwise might not feel comfortable meeting with you directly—and vice-versa depending on your personal health concerns.

I hope you’re enjoying the journey with us as we continue to expand our product and service offerings to you and your patients. For more information anytime, please contact your local Oticon Medical representative. In the meantime, I encourage you to keep an eye on our social media properties and share all the latest news with your own patient base through your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other communications outlets. Oticon Medical’s rising tide is intended to lift all boats, so join us and enjoy the ride!

[1] Manuscript in preparation, Data on File - Clinical study BC102
[2] Data on file at Oticon Medical
*Increased speech understanding with OpenSound Navigator ON measured as a percentage relative to the baseline with OpenSound Navigator OFF.