Somerset, NJ March 20, 2007 - Leading hearing instrument manufacturer Oticon, Inc. today unveiled a new microchip platform, called RISE, that will enable high-speed binaural sound processing, 100 times faster than what is now possible with wireless digital sound processing in hearing instruments. For the hearing care professional, RISE's revolutionary microchip design with built-in wireless broadband capabilities holds the key to making real time connectivity a reality for people with hearing loss.The new platform's high-speed, broadband processing will equip hearing instruments with "RISE inside" to connect wirelessly with Bluetooth™ enabled devices such as mobile phones and other audio/visual devices. This direct connectivity offers comfortable and noise free sound quality because the RISE-powered link is fully digital and uninterrupted from the source to the hearing aids.
"The introduction of the RISE microchip design signals a paradigm shift as significant as the shift from analog to digital platforms," states Oticon President Peer Lauritsen. "Hearing instruments empowered with RISE sound processing will enable the hearing care professional to shift the focus beyond hearing solution, problem solving and compensation to open a new world of connectivity, freedom, and possibility for the hard of hearing population."
RISE features a proprietary broadband technology - EarStream™ - that creates a wireless sphere in which two hearing devices can communicate synchronously at hyper-speed. This seamless coordination will eliminate the uncoordinated shifts in settings that can occur with the ordinary binaural fitting of today's digital hearing aids. The benefit is a more accurate - multi dimensional - reading of the surrounding sound environment.
RISE combines hardwired computing efficiency with the processing flexibility of software-based solutions. This flexible and efficient technology allows advanced signal processing and wireless capabilities without excessively increasing the power consumption -- a savings that is essential for efficient use in small, battery-powered devices such as hearing instruments.
Oticon's innovative RISE microchip design provides multi-core processing that enables multiple processes to take place at the same time. This one signal processing element provides the advantage of a cleaner, clearer signal path ensuring unsurpassed sound quality.
For more information about Oticon's RISE platform and proprietary EarStream technology, log onto www.oticonusa.com.
