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The NIH's National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders selected Qualia Oto for grant funding
August 28, 2024 – Qualia Oto proudly announces securing a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health. The awarded grant, “Shape-Adaptive Cochlear Implant Electrode Arrays”, tops $277,000 in federal funding for the coming nine months, and it supports Qualia Oto’s goal of validating the viability of shape-adaptive cochlear implant (CI) electrode arrays as a new solution for achieving atraumatic cochlear implantation and optimal electrode positioning.
“We are thrilled for this opportunity to work on such a new and innovative cochlear implant technology,” noted Chief Technology Officer Dr. Stuart Cogan (ScD). “The CI market has been lacking major developments in electrode implementation for the last three decades. Qualia Oto’s research and development, accelerated by this funding, has the potential to provide such needed advancements.”
CIs are likely the most successful neural prostheses to date since their first commercialization in the 1980s. Originally inserted only in adults, cochlear implants now are available for all individuals, including infants. Yet while CI functionality has improved markedly over the past four decades, improvements are primarily related to the external unit of the CI; advancing alongside CPUs, the processor is now smaller, is more powerful, and has a better battery life.
However, while tremendous advancements in front-end processing for electric hearing and electroacoustic stimulation have resulted in patients gaining speech understanding, the baseline performance of CIs has been hampered because improvements in back-end processing supports have been almost non-existent.
One promising solution in enhancing back-end processing is positioning electrodes close to the modiolus, in effect “hugging” the modiolus, to minimize the distance between the electrodes and the spiral ganglion cells; this can offer more focal stimulation and reduced current spread, potentially leading to improved speech recognition.
Senior Research Engineer, Dr. Jimin Maeng (PhD), will lead Qualia Oto’s efforts: "I am very excited to receive this award. This project will provide us the opportunity to validate our shape-adaptive cochlear implant electrode technology that combines the advantages of both the lateral wall and perimodiolar electrodes. I am eager to see promising results from this Phase I research that can continue to Phase II and beyond. Once validated, our technology will be a groundbreaking advancement in cochlear implants as it addresses the longstanding challenge in the field – achieving atraumatic insertion and optimal electrode positioning at the same time."
In 2024, The World Health Organization estimated that 430M people (>5% of the world’s population) had disabling hearing loss, and it projects this will grow to >700M by 2050. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 15% of American adults reported having difficulty with their hearing. The CI market is continuously growing worldwide due to the increasing aging population, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, growing healthcare awareness, and technological advancements in CIs.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth Lee (MD, PhD) has spent his career enhancing the lives of patients through cochlear implementation: “After nearly 20 years as a pediatric otologist, the most rewarding surgery I perform is a cochlear implant. Being able to open the world of hearing for a deaf child is as good as it can get for me professionally. Knowing that our novel advancements may deliver even better results for future patients is truly exciting.”
Qualia Oto’s innovative approach and commitment to improving patient care have the potential to reshape – literally and figuratively – the cochlear implant industry. This Phase I SBIR grant will enable the company to further develop and validate its novel technologies, bringing it closer to commercialization and future clinical use.
About the SBIR Program
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal research and development with the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.
About Qualia Oto
Qualia Oto is an innovative biomedical device company focused on improving the individual’s quality of life through better aural technologies. By integrating our proprietary shape-adaptive polymers, we are advancing the next generation of cochlear implants allowing for minimal trauma, a superior positioning of electrodes, and an increased effectiveness and stimulatory resolution for chronic, targeted microstimulation. Qualia Oto’s team of medical and scientific experts aim to reshape – literally and figuratively – cochlear implants and their capacity in overcoming debilitating hearing loss.
For additional information, please contact:
Benedict Voit, Chief Operating Officer
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