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Dr. Kenneth Lee presented the company’s latest advancements at one of the world’s largest cochlear implant conferences
July 24, 2024 – Hundreds of physicians, audiologists, and industry representatives met recently at the American Cochlear Implant Alliance's CI2024 in Vancouver, Canada. The conference featured talks by Kris Martin, NASCAR's first deaf driver, and Dr. Ruth Litovsky, Chair of the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin, in addition to keynote lectures by Drs. Jill Firszt, Andrej Kral, and Debara Tucci. Qualia Oto's co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth Lee presented at the Electrode Array Design session along with other key leaders in the cochlear implant field.
Dr. Lee's talk Minimizing Trauma & Optimizing Intracochlear Position with a Novel Shape Memory Polymer Cochlear Implant Electrode Array showcased the incorporation of Qualia Oto's shape-changing polymer technology into a novel cochlear implant electrode capable of lateral wall insertion with a subsequent transition to a deeper, peri-modiolar positioning. The talk highlighted results from years of research.
"Dr. Lee's talk had quite an impact on the audience,” Qualia Oto CEO Connie Manz noted. “I could sense their rapt attention as he showed the time-lapse video of our electrodes re-positioning in a plastic cochlea model after insertion. I'm sure the CI community still has many questions about our technology, but I look forward to continuing to work with our partners to demonstrate the capabilities of our novel electrode."
For his part, Dr. Lee was thrilled to share Qualia Oto’s advancements: “It was so exciting to finally present our work, years in the making, on a global stage. We were so pleased to find our enthusiasm validated by the mutual excitement for our research by our colleagues and the leading corporations at the conference. It has further fueled our drive to push forward.”
Joining Dr. Lee on the panel were world-renowned surgeons in the cochlear implant space, Drs. Thomas Lenarz and Bruce Gantz. Dr. Thomas Lenarz (MD, PhD) is the director of the ENT clinic and the German Hearing Centre at the Hannover Medical School and an internationally recognized specialist for cochlear implants; at the start of his career, Dr. Lenarz was the youngest professor in Germany in the field of otorhinolaryngology.
Dr. Bruce Gantz (MD), a neurotologist at the University of Iowa Health Care for the past 40 years, has been a leader in the field, providing the first multi-channel cochlear implant to a congenitally deaf child in the U.S. in 1987, and more recently performed the world’s first robot-assisted cochlear electrode implant.
“Drs. Lenarz and Gantz are two of the most famous CI surgeons worldwide,” Dr. Lee added. “It was an honor to be presenting in the same session.”
Qualia Oto COO Benedict Voit is excited how the unveiling of the company’s technology at a global conference will provide momentum for growth: “With our technological advancements now globally public, the race is on to incorporate our innovations safely and efficiently within the CI space,” Mr. Voit said. “Our self-coiling polymers really can bridge the gap between better electrode placement and a more reliable implantation.”
The current market argues between the best placement of an implant within the cochlea – should it be along the lateral wall, with less risk of scarring, or hugging the modiolus, a more effective electrode placement although a riskier implant?
“Qualia Oto will soon settle this argument,” Dr. Lee smiled. “By implementing our advancements, the answer to the questions of ‘Do we choose lateral wall or perimodiolar insertions?’ and ‘Do we choose shallow or deep cochlear implants?’ will be simple: yes.”
Qualia Oto would like to thank the ACI Alliance as well as conference co-organizers, Drs. Jacob Hunter and Viral Tejani for a great conference and is excited to share even more exciting results at CI2025.
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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