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COVID-19 innovations

The coronavirus pandemic has mobilised medical innovators in an amazing way. We take a look at just a few of the hundreds of innovative products and techniques that have been developed and used in the last few weeks. Some of...

3D printing and sustainability in audiology and ENT

As we try to avoid disposing of equipment that is still functional, we are challenged by company policies that make equipment ‘obsolete’ and no longer supported for repairs. One innovative solution is provided by 3D printing parts that are needed...

Tinnitus treatment device from concept to commercialisation

Innovation in the field of healthcare is fraught with nearly insurmountable challenges. Bringing a novel product to the market requires a new (patentable) idea that can be reduced to practice, manufactured at scale, and can pass all regulatory barriers. In...

The changing landscape for hearing loss therapeutics: novel advances of gene and cell therapies

Recent years have seen advances in hearing loss therapeutics, with novel treatments trialled in humans, and others nearing promising first-in-kind clinical trials. First successful clinical trials for a specific form of genetic hearing loss Very exciting news has emerged in...

Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of refractory chronic rhinosinusitis

Staphylococcus aureus has long been linked to chronic rhinosinusitis, particularly recalcitrant cases. In this article, Alkis Psaltis describes how newer techniques have shown higher rates of S. aureus infection than were previously thought, and explains how the bacteria are able...

Head and neck robotic surgery – considerations for the surgical trainee

In 2021, training in head and neck cancer surgery would be incomplete without some robotic resections under the belt. Henry Zhang explains how he did it and outlines the options available. With a wide range of applications in both benign...

First UK Genio Nyxoah bilateral hypoglossal nerve stimulator implant for obstructive sleep apnoea

Obstructive sleep apnoea remains a very challenging condition to treat, but more options are becoming available. An estimated eight million adults in the UK suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and experience symptoms of troublesome snoring, daytime sleepiness and witnessed...

Implants and the identity of self

Hearpeers is MED-EL’s international community for people with hearing implants and those considering getting a hearing implant, as well as their families and friends. This group enables people to connect with hearing implant recipients from around the world to learn...

The process of medical innovation

You’ve got an amazing idea for a new device. It is going to change how your speciality of surgery is practised. It will lead to better operative results and lower risks to patients – that’s amazing, can I see it?...

OBITUARY: Alan Gibb (1919-2020)

Alan Gibb, who passed away on 5 September aged 101, was the Grand Old Man of British Otology. He slipped quietly away at home on Deeside from the long-term consequences of a stroke about two years ago, from which he...