Phonak, a global provider of hearing instruments and wireless communication solutions, announced it will provide HIMSS18 attendees with hands-on demonstrations of the Audéo™ B-Direct, “the first hearing aid” that directly connects to any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, according to Phonak, at the Samsung Healthcare Lounge, Room 606, Level 1 at the Sands Expo. The company reports that the Audéo B-Direct was designed to serve as a model for breaking long-standing barriers to accessibility and connectivity as the healthcare industry embraces the Internet of Things (IoT) trend.
Attendees can experience how Phonak innovations work with Samsung Galaxy smartphones to help enable hands-free voice calling, in-stereo media streaming, and the latest in hearing aid artificial intelligence. With Audéo B-Direct, hearing aid wearers can answer or reject a phone call by pressing a button on their hearing aid. A plug-and-play adapter for smart TVs or tablets is designed to help “transform” a pair of the hearing aids into wireless headphones, helping to provide an immersive audio experience, Phonak reports.
“Phonak is driven to create hearing solutions that are life-changing, and the fact that the Audéo B-Direct hearing aid does not limit users to certain devices or operating systems reflects that commitment,” said Barb VanSomeren, vice president of marketing, Phonak US. “Our proprietary SWORD chip enables universal connectivity to virtually any phone—including the most popular Samsung devices. This represents a huge segment of the population and is why we feel the Audéo B-Direct is not just a game changer for the hearing aid device market, but for the entire healthcare industry.”
Audéo B-Direct is designed to automatically sense a wearer’s surroundings and make adjustments that help enable conversations in noisy environments. It features Phonak’s latest version of AutoSense OS automatic operating system.
Source: Phonak
Image: Phonak
