[March 20, 2013]

HiRes Optima™ Sound Processing from Advanced Bionics Receives Worldwide Approval

Advanced Bionics (AB), a global leader in cochlear implant technology and a company of the Sonova Group, announced today that it received FDA, Health Canada and T�V approval for the global distribution of HiRes Optima™* sound processing. The world's newest sound strategy for cochlear implant recipients, HiRes Optima delivers optimized battery life with the same great performance as AB's patented HiRes Fidelity 120™* processing. AB cochlear implant recipients using this new technology enjoy an average improvement of 55% in battery life, giving them considerably more time to hear their world before needing to change a battery.

As part of a company-wide commitment to providing the best performance, Advanced Bionics continually innovates sound processing technology to help recipients experience as close to normal hearing as possible. AB built HiRes Optima processing on the HiRes Fidelity 120 platform to benefit from its built-in performance capabilities. As the industry's only sound strategy that uses 120 spectral bands to deliver five times more sound resolution than any other cochlear implant system, HiRes Fidelity 120 has been developed to reveal all the dimensions of sound, from the rich layers of music to the subtle nuances of tone during a conversation. HiRes Optima provides the same rich and detailed sound with an improved battery life.

"Nothing on the market can compete with the sound quality from our HiRes Fidelity 120 technology. To deliver the same performance and substantially increase battery life for our recipients is a great accomplishment," said Hansjuerg Emch, President of Advanced Bionics and Group Vice President of the Sonova Medical Division within which AB resides. "HiRes Optima perfectly represents the intense effort and engineering expertise that make AB the leading innovator in our industry."

Benefiting from the HiRes Fidelity 120 platform, HiRes Optima also delivers AB's proprietary current steering technology. Other implants use a single current source to stimulate only one electrode at a time, limiting the number of potential spectral bands. Like AB's HiRes Fidelity 120, HiRes Optima has multiple current sources, enabling two or more electrodes to be stimulated at the same time. This simultaneous stimulation allows current to be "steered" between electrodes, giving AB cochlear implant recipients the opportunity to hear more pitches. Recipients using research software have demonstrated the ability to perceive up to 450 pitches.¹

HiRes Optima will be available for use with AB's next-generation sound processor as well as Neptune™ and Harmony™ processors.

For more information about HiRes Optima sound processing, or any Advanced Bionics product, contact a local AB representative or visit AdvancedBionics.com.

About Advanced Bionics

Advanced Bionics is a global leader in developing the most advanced cochlear implant systems in the world. Founded in 1993 and a subsidiary of the Sonova Group since 2009, AB develops cutting-edge cochlear implant technology that allows recipients to hear their best.

AB offers the most sophisticated cochlear implant system on the market, the HiResolution^™ Bionic Ear System, with five times more sound resolution than its competitors, designed to help recipients hear in noisy settings and enjoy the full dimensions of music.

With sales in over 50 countries and a proven track record for developing high-performing, state-of-the-art products, AB's talented group of technologists and professionals from all over the world are driven to succeed, work with integrity and stay firmly committed to quality.

To learn more about AB and its innovative cochlear implant technology, please visit AdvancedBionics.com.

*Not approved for pediatric patients in the United States.

1. Firszt JB, Koch DB, Downing M, Litvak L. (2007) Current steering creates additional pitch percepts in adult cochlear implant recipients. Otology and Neurotology, 28(5):629-636.

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