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Welcome we are Interacoustics
- the global market leader in solutions for tympanometric testing
Our solutions are found in most clinics around the world
a fact we consider with great humility - What we ARE fiercely proud of
are our innovative solutions.
50 years of evolution and research into middle ear analysis
has focused on refinement of existing procedures and technologies.
What we present today is therefore nothing short of a revolution
Wideband Tympanometry
So far the limitations such as using only a single frequency
to test the middle ear have been tolerated
- simply for lack of a better system.
At Interacoustics we started thinking about what it would take to advance the
understanding of the middle ear.
What was lacking?
We have cooperated with the leading researchers in the field
and together we have developed a solution that provides more data
and more accuracy - a single measurement is carried out to generate
3D tympanograms.
For ALL probetone frequencies and all this is presented graphically
in one simple procedure. At first glance this mountain of data may appear overwhelming.
But in actual fact all relevant information is easily accessible, immediately.
Traditional measurements of the tympanic membrane
and the middle ears ability to transfer sound energy
is limited to single frequency testing.
Sound arrives here, strikes the tympanic membrane
and some of it is absorbed toward the inner ear while the rest is reflected
and remains here in the ear canal.
Let me illustrate. So far technology has allowed us to examine single frequency
tympanograms
at 226Hz - or 1KHz when testing infants.
However the middle is a multiple frequency transducer
for speech and environmental sounds.
This is what we work with today.
This that is what we will work with in the future.
A mountain
of data.
Wideband Tympanometry measures all tympanograms from 226Hz
to 8 Kilo Hz in a single fast precious sweep using the same procedure
as classic tympanometry.
Here you see the tympanometric response to all frequencies
in a normal ear.
The mountain ridge is where we have maximum absorbance just as we know it from tympanometric peak pressure
in classic tympanometry and here you can directly see the middle ears ability
to absorb sound energy
at tympanometric peak pressure or at ambient pressure
and for ease of evaluating this
a simple absorbance graph is available
middle ear pathologies and abnormalities generate distinctive absorbance
landscapes
that are easily identifiable and detectable
with wideband tympanomtry
This means that we are able to distinguish
between a number middle ear conditions simply by studying the absorbance
or landscape that is generated in this 3D tympanogram
These can be different pathologies like
perforated tympanic membrane, fluid in the middle ear,
otosclerosis, disarticulation of the ossicular chain
Semi-circular Canal Dihesense.
They all generate specific absorbance characteristics
beside surgery this constitutes the strongest and most reliable indication
of the actual middle ear condition to date.
Won't examiners drown in data and won't this complicate the analytical and diagnostic procedures.
No. The key measurements can be read as easily as they can today
Choose the tympanograms for the frequencies that are to be examined
and all other data is filtered away.
The testing procedure remains the same as it is today.
But instead of carrying out multiple tests - access is obtained to tympanograms
for all frequencies in a single pressure sweep.
This simplifies and optimizes the process. In addition to this,
we get a clear and easily accessible absorbance graph
revealing middle ear conditions and pathologies.
This serves as a phenomenal screening tool and it will help to improve
diagnostics
especially in more complex cases. Interacoustics has transferred decades of experience
and careful studies
into a revolutionary piece of equipment.
New territories have emerged for those who wish to push the boundaries
of our understanding of the middle ear. Or for those who just want more information
out of the time spent with patients.
We have used evolution to create a revolution: Wideband Tympanometry
- a mountain of data...