Phonak's innovation for Kiwi ears only

By DANIEL RIORDAN

Bill Keith told the world's second-richest man where to go the other week.

Software billionaire Larry Ellison does not like being behind the competition, so it was not surprising that his America's Cup syndicate, Oracle Racing, asked if it could use some innovative technology that Mr Keith's company had developed for Team New Zealand last summer.

His response: "Get lost. You're a US syndicate."

What Phonak NZ had that Mr Ellison's syndicate wanted for its 2002/03 challenge were the waterproof earpieces that Team NZ used so successfully in their Cup defence.

For the next series, Mr Keith is promising enhancements to the communications system that will make it even easier for the skipper to talk to crewmen above the roar of wind, waves and helicopters - but only on Black Magic.

Takapuna-based Phonak provided the system free for the defenders last summer and plans to do the same next time around.

Of course, Mr Keith is well aware that other subsidiaries of the Swiss-based Phonak may be keen to look after their local syndicates. But meanwhile, he is busy improving the system for our yachties.

The key to the onboard communication system is the waterproof casing surrounding the high-tech radio receivers.

The brain behind it belongs to Phonak NZ's technical manager, Rex Lyes, who is part of an international product design team to which New Zealand contributes more than its fair share. We may be a relatively small market, but Kiwis are known as early adopters of technology and many of Phonak's new products are tested here first.

The waterproof earpieces have applications outside yachting, says Mr Keith. Surf lifesaving and marine rescue groups, here and in Australia, are showing interest, and police dog-handlers, who have to work in areas where radio contact may be lost, are also potential users.

Mr Lyes tried a prototype of the waterproof hearing aid on blind swimmer Jason Griffiths in his buildup to the 1996 Paralympics.

Griffiths' coach wanted to communicate with him during training to warn him when he was approaching the end of the pool. And she felt there had to be a better way than running up and tapping him on the shoulder with a stick.

Enter Phonak and Mr Lyes, who devised a system of magnetic beacons that sent out a signal to let Griffiths know when his turns were coming up.

Other coaches have since used the thumbnail-sized MicroLink FM system, which clips on the end of the hearing aid, although they cannot be used in competition.

The Team NZ link came through designer Laurie Davidson, who a year ago became the first person in the world to use Phonak's digital hearing aid, Claro.

Developed from Cold War technology, the system can track a moving sound and suppress it, vastly improving the quality of sound for the hearing-impaired, who have trouble with background noise.

Delighted by the improvement to his hearing, Mr Davidson talked to Phonak about ways to improve the entire boat's communication.

Earpieces can be fitted to all crew, but those at the bow, farthest from the skipper, and the crewman looking after the sails down in the "sewer" benefit the most.

America's Cup rules prohibit the yachts from carrying gear that can pick up signals sent from off the boat.

Although the system works only one way - allowing the skipper to communicate with the crew but not the other way around - it helped Team NZ by cutting down the confusion caused by the need to yell above the background noise.

Mr Keith, one of New Zealand's first audiologists and a former head of the Government's National Audiology Centre, set up Phonak's local operations nine years ago.

Although Phonak NZ is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swiss parent, which last year had sales of $436 million, it has a lot of autonomy and contributes more than its fair share of the multinational's research and development breakthroughs.

The company employs 25 staff and claims about a third of the country's hearing aid market - which these days encompasses much more than making and selling those brown in-ear models that look like miniature potato roots.

They are still available but members of the "What? What? What? club" are increasingly choosing stylish models, in a range of colours, that nestle behind the ear with transparent plugs attached.

Phonak's latest model of the Claro system comes with wrist watches that double as unobtrusive remote controls for the digital hearing aids.

Herald Online feature: America's Cup