Company continues to revolutionize advanced digital manufacturing technology in the industry
PISCATAWAY, N.J., January 2004 - Siemens Hearing Instruments announces it recently surpassed the production of a quarter million LasR™-made hearing instruments. This momentous milestone celebrates the state-of-the-art LasR (Laser Accurate Scan Replication) manufacturing technology.
Siemens introduced LasR in 2001 to further improve the quality of life for individuals with hearing loss and deliver advanced products with world-class quality and reliability. Siemens offers LasR-made shells on all of its custom made hearing instruments to provide its customers with the most advanced, highest quality hearing instruments.
About Siemens LasR Technology
LasR truly is a state-of-the-art, advanced technology that is revolutionizing the way Siemens builds hearing instruments. "The LasR process has been a whole new environment for us," says William Lesiecki, director of software and e-business solutions. "We're not just building hearing aids a little differently now; we are transforming an industry, and we've only just begun."
LasR utilizes digital mechanical assembly technology, precision laser scanning and cutting-edge computer software to respond to the patient's overwhelming desire for more accurate and comfortably fitting hearing instruments. LasR technology captures the physical impression of the ear, provided by the Hearing Care Professional, by using laser scans to produce a "point cloud" image of the impression in 3D space. This raw data is then used to create a surface over the virtual impression, which allows for easy positioning or repositioning of the vent and receiver holes as needed.
Guided by the 3D rendered data, a laser then precisely "builds" the shell from a bed of powdered polymer material by selectively sintering (fusing) the polymer material into a shell with unprecedented accuracy. LasR shell material meets stringent biocompatibility requirements and has also proven to be more durable than traditional acrylic shells. The shells are lightly bead-blasted and finished to a textured surface that is not only more life-like and more closely resembles natural skin, but provides a better, more secure fit in the ear. Siemens e-detailing software helps LasR achieve an even higher level of precision and accuracy. When the ear impression arrives at Siemens, e-detailing prepares it for the best possible scan. "We can scan the raw impression and on the computer screen, cut it and shape it into the model that's ordered," says Lesiecki. This technology enables Siemens technicians to make minute, extremely precise and accurate adjustments, while simultaneously eliminating human error, resulting in a perfect fit.
Because the impression information is scanned and stored in a database, future shells can be recreated to identical specifications as needed without new impressions. As this technology continues to progress, Siemens is currently testing the ability for Hearing Care Professionals to scan the patient's ear in the office and send the information electronically to Siemens production facility, thus turning the impression process completely digital by eliminating the need for a physical impression.
About Siemens Hearing Instruments
Headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, Siemens Hearing Instruments, Inc. designs, engineers a variety of digital (programmable and trimmer-driven) hearing instruments in all custom (In-the-Canal, In-the-Ear, and Completely-in-the-Canal) and Behind-the-Ear (BTE) models. The Company also offers audiological software, and a wide array of assistive listening devices (ALDs) such as amplified phones, which help improve the quality of life of the hearing impaired. Visit www.usa.siemens.com/hearing for more information.
The Company is a part of Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) of Malvern, Pennsylvania and Erlangen, Germany, one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. More information can be obtained by visiting www.usa.siemens.com/medical.
