Cochlear Receives Medical Design Excellence Award

Sydney, Australia —April 13, 2006—Cochlear today announced that it is the recipient of a 2006 Medical Design Excellence Award.  The Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition is the premier awards program for the medical technology community, recognizing the achievements of medical product manufacturers and the many people behind the scenes—engineers, scientists, designers and clinicians—who are responsible for the groundbreaking innovations that are changing the face of healthcare. 

Cochlear’s Nucleus® Freedom™ Implant System, the newest, most advanced cochlear implant system, is designed to mimic the functions of the human ear.
“We are honoured that the Nucleus Freedom has been recognized by MDEA, they are a prestigious organisation and we’re thrilled to have been selected by a group of experts from a wide range of healthcare and design-related fields,” said Chris Roberts, CEO, Cochlear. “We strive to provide the most innovative, reliable implants on the market to help the millions of people suffering with hearing loss.  We are thrilled that this implant system, and the effort and innovation put into its design, have been recognized as doing so.”  

Cochlear implants are a safe and effective treatment for severe-to-profound hearing loss in adults and children.  A cochlear implant is a technological device that bypasses the damaged hair cells and stimulates the hearing nerve directly, providing useful hearing and improved communication abilities to the implant user. The Nucleus Freedom represents Cochlear’s fourth-generation cochlear implant system and is designed to mimic the functions of natural hearing.  The Nucleus Freedom system is the only cochlear implant system that offers unmatched reliability, feature flexibility, IP44 tested water-resistance, and a variety of adjustable options to meet each user’s individual need and hearing fingerprint.  This allows each individual the best chance of optimising their hearing experience in a range of listening situations. 

The MDEA program is open worldwide to companies and individuals involved in the design, engineering, manufacturing or distribution of finished medical devices or medical packaging; with awards offered in 10 different categories.
 
The presentation of the 2006 MDEA awards will take place on Wednesday, June 7, in a ceremony at the Medical Design & Manufacturing East 2006 Conference and Exposition, in New York City.