Monthly Archives: April 2010
Music in Utero
The new Ritmo Advanced Pregnancy Sound System from Nuvo Group of Columbia, South Carolina gives an interesting twist to the title of the famous Nirvana album. It consists of a pregnancy belt that provides a hands-free music listening experience for both mom and baby. It features four speakers aimed at the fetus, a built-in iPod pocket, a 3.5mm jack and volume-regulating abilities.
from MedGadget.com
DynaVox prices initial public offering at $15.00 per share
DynaVox Inc., a leading provider of software, devices and content to assist people in overcoming their speech, language or learning disabilities, announced today that its initial public offering of 9,375,000 shares of its Class A common stock has been priced at $15.00 per share. The shares are expected to begin trading tomorrow, April 22, 2010, on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “DVOX.” The underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,406,250 additional shares of Class A common stock at the public offering price less the underwriting discount from DynaVox if the underwriters sell more than 9,375,000 shares in the offering.
from News-Medical.net
Human Language Technologies 2010 conference takes place in Los Angeles, June 1-6
Noisy data from sources like social media, machine translations and speech a major focus
from EurekAlert.org
Hearing tests needed for children
The importance of hearing testing isn’t widely understood by many parents. Parents may schedule appointments with an opthamologist for an eye exam for their children at regular intervals – but never think to similarly schedule a hearing test with an audiologist. We think perhaps that if a child responds to our voice in a room of our homes that their hearing must be fine. Jokingly we think that if they don’t respond to the calls for dinner that they should have their hearing checked – but rarely follow up on this. At one time hearing tests were conducted routinely in Canadian schools but this is no longer the case.
from News-Medical.net
Relative importance of genetic factors is low in tinnitus, says new research
The relative importance of genetic factors in tinnitus is low, according to new research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. This is the first large population-based study to measure the heritability of tinnitus.
from News-Medical.net
Findings Of NIDCD-Funded Chemosensory Researchers To Be Presented At AChemS 2010 Meeting
Long-term effects of toxic exposure in Sept. 11 responders and new area in the brain where smell and sound converge are among topics featured
Novel device transmits music and sound safely in-utero
The new Ritmo Advanced Pregnancy Sound System™ is giving pregnant women around the globe the comprehensive fitness solution that they have been looking for — a comfortable and supportive pregnancy belt that provides a hands-free music listening experience for both mom and baby.
from News-Medical.net
For Children with Hearing Loss: the Earlier the Better for Cochlear Implants
Receiving a cochlear implant before 18 months of age dramatically improves a deaf child’s ability to hear, understand and, eventually, speak, according to a multicenter study led by scientists at Johns Hopkins.
from Newswise.com
Epileptic activity in brain can affect language development in children: Sahlgrenska Academy
Epileptic activity in the brain can affect language development in children, and EEG registrations should therefore be carried out more frequently on children with severe language impairment to identify more readily those who may need medical treatment, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.
from News-Medical.net
Enigma Diagnostics receives patent for amplification consumables
Enigma Diagnostics Limited, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,659,096 with claims that cover the use of amplification consumables in several current real-time and end point PCR instruments. The consumables incorporate a thermally conducting layer and reaction wells in combination with a reaction mixture and a blocking agent. Enigma Diagnostics Ltd is the exclusive licensee of this patent from the UK Defence Science Technology Laboratory.
from News-Medical.net
Language Dysfunction in Children May Be Due to Epileptic Brain Activity
Epileptic activity in the brain can affect language development in children, and EEG registrations should therefore be carried out more frequently on children with severe language impairment to identify more readily those who may need medical treatment, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.
from ScienceDaily.com
Researchers discover link between protein structure and hearing process
Rising from the top surface of each of the specialized receptor cells in our inner ears is a bundle of sensory cilia that responds to the movement of sound. As sensitive as they are fragile, these cilia can move to wisps of sound no larger than a molecule-but can shear at sounds that are larger than life.
from News-Medical.net
Two Announcements from Bookshare! Provider of Accessible Reading Material for People with Print Disabilities
Bookshare, the provider of the “world’s largest online library of accessible reading materials to people [currently with about 90,000 members] with print disabilities” has announced that two well-known publishers, Merriam-Webster and Simon and Schuster (all imprints] will be adding material to their BookShare database.
from Resource Shelf
CASLPA Celebrates World Voice Day April 16
The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA) is celebrating World Voice Day on April 16. The theme for World Voice Day 2010, “Love Your Voice,” reminds people of the value and significance of vocal health in everyday life. This initiative is supported by CASLPA’s speech-language pathology members as well as other healthcare providers around the world who help individuals with voice problems.
Next Generation Hearing Instruments With BestSound Technology – Siemens Introduces Latest Models Of Its Motion, Life, And Pure Hearing Systems
Siemens will be introducing the next generation of its Motion, Life, and Pure hearing systems for the first time at the annual conference of the American Academy of Audiology (AAA), which takes place from April 14 to 17 in San Diego. These products now come with BestSound Technology, which once again noticeably improves hearing comfort. Key features include the three-dimensional speech recognition technology SpeechFocus, intelligent SoundLearning 2.0 and FeedbackStopper, which eliminates feedback just as it is starting. Additional colors and a new charger with an automatic drying function round out these products’ wide range of design and functional innovations.
