VIC Branch Report - 25th Annual Technologists' Picnic

Cochlear Implants: Past, Present and Future

25th Annual Technologists' Picnic “Cochlear Implants : Past, Present and Future”

Guest Speaker: Claire Hartmann

Date: 24 th November 2023

Guest Speaker: Claire Hartmann

The 25th Annual Technologists Picnic was held recently. As always, the Technologists’ Picnic included members from the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Foundry Institute, Materials Australia, Engineers Australia, and the Australasian Corrosion Association. Attendees were treated to a very interesting and detailed presentation on the history of cochlear implants by Claire Hartmann. Claire is a Graduate Engineer working at the Bionics Institute, which was founded by Professor Graeme Clark, the developer of the first successful multichannel cochlear implant.

Claire discussed the research that guided the development of the first successfully implanted cochlear device in Melbourne in 1978, as well as important aspects of the device’s design. Cochlear implants are known worldwide as a life changing device for people with severe to profound hearing loss who wish to improve questions and discussion later in the evening. presentation from a Biomedical Engineer and gave the attendees an insight into a different area of technological development happening in Australia.

Gary Bunn presents Claire Hartmann with a symbol of gratitude on behalf of the participants.

Claire delivered a very informative and insightful presentation .

Claire went on to explain improvements made to cochlear implants over the years, the directions of current research to continue to improve performance into

Claire was loudly applauded for

The 25th Annual Technologists Picnic eventually went ahead despite various changes in date and venue. Those of us who persevered were richly rewarded with a very interesting and detailed presentation on the history of cochlear implants by Claire Hartmann. Claire is a Graduate Engineer working at the Bionics Institute, which was founded by Professor Graeme Clark, the developer

Claire discussed the research that guided the development of first successfully implanted cochlear device in Melbourne in 1978, as well as important aspects of the device’s design. Cochlear implants are known worldwide as a life changing device for people with severe to profound hearing loss who wish to improve their understanding of verbal communication. A key section of the Claire’s talk was a review of hearing function and how our brains process the sounds around us, leading to some interesting questions and discussion later in the evening. Claire went onto explain improvements made to cochlear implants over the years, the directions of current research to continue to improve performance into the future and the ways in which this research has led to the development of

The evening's talk was the first presentation from a Biomedical Engineer and

Claire was loudly applauded for her excellent presentation She was then asked many questions by representatives of the five participating groups that had come from Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. Claire was then presented with