Question
What are the new features of Ponto Plus, the latest bone anchored solution from Oticon Medical?
Answer
Ponto Plus is built on the latest signal-processing platform, the Inium platform, and includes wireless capabilities, using a streamer that works exclusively with Ponto products.
Now, consumers can stream their cellphone directly to their Ponto Plus. The streamer is also compatible with all the ConnectLine items, including ConnectLine TV, ConnectLine Phone for the landline, and the ConnectLine Microphone.
There is no question that end users of bone-anchored products are looking for wireless connectivity, and this includes both those with conductive hearing losses, as well as those with SSD.
There is also a new more powerful vibrator in the device. That will allow us to provide significantly more gain, particularly in the high frequencies for the user. You know the importance of high frequency information – it is the key to speech understanding, and Ponto Plus provides more gain in the higher frequencies. This is combined with a new state-of-the-art feedback system, which is very similar to the feedback systems we use in the new premium Oticon hearing instruments. It results in more functional gain for the wearer. It is one thing to be able to produce higher amounts of gain in the test box with a more powerful vibrator, but if that gain simply causes the device to feedback when worn in the real world, it does not do any good. With Ponto Plus, we can deliver more functional gain in the high frequencies in the real world as compared to our previous devices.
This Ask the Expert was taken from the recent AudiologyOnline interview with Alan Raffauf. For more information on bone anchored hearing solutions, Oticon Medical and the Ponto Plus, visit www.oticonmedical.com or the Oticon Medical Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
