Fluid Dispensing Solutions Improve Hearing Technology, Impact Quality of Life

Overview

The future of hearing devices is ever-changing, and with over 5% of the world’s population requiring hearing assistance, it’s a growing market with innovation trending towards smaller and more comfortable wearables for patients.

As one of the five senses, hearing loss has such a profound effect on a person’s quality of life. From hearing conversations between family and friends to enjoying live music to catching everything in a work meeting, the ability to hear affects so much in ours lives and technologies like hearing aids and cochlear implants have a big impact on millions of patients every year. Especially for individuals using them daily, it’s essential that hearing aids and cochlear implants work correctly.

In this article, we will deep dive into the advanced fluid dispensing technologies that are integrated into the manufacturing of these life-enhancing technologies.

Fluids Used

While hearing aids amplify sound to make them louder and clearer, cochlear implants can bypass damaged hair cells and directly stimulate the cochlea.

• Hearing aid components include a microphone, amplifier, and speaker.
• Cochlear implants include a microphone, speech processor, transmitting coil, receiver, and intracochlear electrode array.

Each of these components contain electronics that work in tandem to improve hearing in patients.

Fluid dispensing is an important step in the manufacturing process of these hearing devices to ensure the units function properly, allowing patients to hear and reduce the number of issues they may have as they’re wearing them.

This is especially important with the internal mechanisms of cochlear implants, where reducing the risk of having multiple surgeries and therefore exposure to bacteria and damage to the cochlea is essential. Manufacturers will use fluids such as fleece, getter material, primer, and silicone when assembling these parts.

Application Requirements

With hearing device technology, safety checks involve testing, which must be done in the same country of origin where the parts are manufactured, and FDA approval must be achieved before they’re sent to the market. Manufacturers of hearing device technologies must be able to produce quality products and have a repeatable setup to make every piece as accurate as possible.

Adding precision fluid dispensing technology to the production line of these devices is a huge win for manufacturers since the best way to ensure a functioning end part is to begin with an accurate assembly process. Faulty or broken equipment can result in delayed surgeries if the inventory cannot be met so this equipment has a huge effect.

Hearing aids and external pieces of cochlear implants are designed to last roughly 7 years, while the goal for the internal components of a cochlear implant is to last a lifetime. With this in mind, it’s incredibly important that these parts, especially the implanted parts, are durable, long lasting, and safe for patients.

Manual Fluid Dispensing

For some hearing device manufacturers, manual processes such as using handheld dispensing devices are beneficial even when working with small parts.

Dispensing Silicone to Insulate Electrode Arrays

 One application with cochlear implants is to insulate the electrode array with silicone. Cochlear implants have an electrode array that attaches to the internal receiver and is carefully threaded into the natural spiral of the cochlea.

The external microphone will take in sounds and pass them through the speech processor, which identifies the different frequencies of sound. This current must travel along the array and the electricity must only escape through the stimulation channels at the ends of the array, where they sit within the cochlea. Different frequencies of sound will trigger certain stimulation channels.

Ensuring the electricity passes through the electrode array from the receiver and no electricity is escaping is important for the device to work properly as well as avoiding any damage.

Fluid Dispensing Solutions

Due to the viscous nature of the silicone, we recommend the HPx High-Pressure Dispensing Tool, which accurately and consistently dispenses thick, viscous fluid. The ergonomic design reduces hand fatigue, which is important when manufacturers are assembling large numbers of these, sometimes making two for a single patient with hearing loss in both ears.

It can be easily paired with our 32 gauge General Purpose dispensing tips. The yellow general purpose dispense tip is our smallest gauge tip that securely attaches to our Optimum Syringe Barrels to prevent leakage and ensure drip-free dispensing so you can dispense precisely where you need to, which is critical on very small parts.

The HPx also makes it easy to swap out dispensing tips with a simple built-in wrench to reduce downtime. We also offer a line of precision fluid dispensers that are compatible with the HPx, all of which are suitable for these silicone applications.

Semi-Automated Fluid Dispensing

Bonding a High-End Fleece Material onto a Zinc-Air Battery

In hearing aid sound processors, manufacturers need to bond a high-end fleece material onto a zinc-air battery that powers the device using oxygen in the air. The fleece material allows air to get in while acting as a barrier against moisture or perspiration that can damage the battery and affect its longevity. The battery is an important piece of hearing aids because a poor power source or low battery affects the efficiency of the device.

Fluid Dispensing Solutions

It can be challenging to reach certain parts of a zinc-air battery with a regular dispense valve and tip, and that is where jet dispensing can provide immense value. Jetting systems like the PICO Pµlse help manufacturers dispense in hard-to-reach places.

They no longer have to verify dispensing paths after swapping out dispensing tips since fluid is jetting directly out of the valve itself using piezoelectric technology. This greatly speeds up production, which is important when manufacturers are making large quantities of hearing aids, sometimes two for a single patient.

Coating Molds with Primer/Activators

In the manufacturing of hearing aid technology, a primer or activator is often sprayed onto a part to promote adhesion. This helps certain components to securely bond together. For hearing aids and cochlear implants, primers are sprayed onto the microphone, speech processor, transmitter on the external parts, and receiver on the internal parts.

Creating something long-lasting on health care devices that people use daily is ever important that they are durable and therefore function properly. It is especially crucial when bonding the external and internal components of cochlear implants since there are inherent risks when removing the implanted parts that adhere over time to parts of the body over time.

Fluid Dispensing Solutions

The 781Mini spray valve consistently sprays primer/activator to adhere pieces together and protect the external and internal components. This spray valve is 60% smaller than most conventional spray valves, making it the optimal solution when working with small parts like the implanted receivers on cochlear implants, which can be a few millimeters in width. This spray valve consistently sprays patterns as narrow as 1 mm (0.04”) wide to avoid any overspray and reduce fluid waste.

Mount the 781Mini spray valve on our EV series automated dispensing system for a full system solution. The EV series robot will locate the assigned angle and fiduciary mark before the dispense cycle begins, ensuring that the dispense will be accurate.

It uses specialized vision-guided DispenseMotion™ software and a pencil camera for easy setup and programming. Available with multiple sizes, this robot is ideal to provide manufacturers with equipment they can trust, which is ever important when creating hearing devices for patients.

Prepping Implantable Receivers with a Getter Material

The electronic components within the receiver on cochlear implants must be primed with a getter material to absorb any moisture inside before the part is sealed closed. Avoiding moisture inside the receiver both helps to prevent damage to the electrical parts as well as help extend the life of the implant. Once the primer is applied, the mold can be sealed.

Fluid Dispensing Solutions

UltimusPlus fluid dispensers offer Smart Factory integration for next level process control for getter material either in manual or automated systems. When paired with our EV series automated dispensing system, this dispenser is remotely accessible, allowing it to be monitored and controlled from a personal computer, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), or any plant controller that uses Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

It also features operator lockout, giving manufacturers the ability to control time, pressure, and vacuum settings to prevent operator-to-operator variability in between shifts and on automated, conveyor fed lines. This reduces the number of rejects, which is crucial when working with implantable devices, where delays in production could delay surgeries.

Impact (Why Fluid Dispensing Matters)

The loss of hearing can have a huge effect on someone’s life in so many ways. However, with properly functioning hearing technology, patients are able to regain their quality of life.

Fluid dispensing contributes to the safety and quality of these devices. These solutions help ensure the electronics are protected, the risk of the body rejecting an implant is reduced, and the device is properly assembled. In addition, very precise fluid dispensing solutions are required because the parts are so small.

Conclusion

Hearing aid technology manufacturers face a growing demand for both hearing aids and cochlear implants as the population ages and FDA approvals for implants have expanded to include children as young as 9 months.

In 2019 alone, doctors globally implanted nearly 737,000 cochlear implants. And for a lot of patients, that’s double the technology if both their ears suffer from hearing loss.

To keep up with the production of these products and to accurately create them, manufacturers have turned to fluid dispensing technology as a reliable source of machinery on their production lines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What fluids are used to manufacture hearing aids and cochlear implants?

Adhesives, getter material, primers/activators, sealants, and silicones play a big role in manufacturing hearing airs and cochlear implants.

What automated fluid dispensing systems are used by hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturers?

Precision fluid dispensers provide solutions both for manual and automated dispensing to cover a wide range of applications. For the hearing device industry with so many small components, this gives manufacturers the ability to find something that works for any application, and these dispensers can provide that flexibility.

When a lot of parts are being made and hearing device manufacturers must keep up with demand, many turn to automated dispensing systems to meet production requirements. Dispensing robots can help with a variety of applications including 3- or 4-axis, vision or no vision, and the ability to dispense a variety of applications including dots, lines, potting, damming, filling, underfilling, encapsulation, sealing, coating, and jetting.

Jet valve systems and valve systems offer precise, reliable fluid dispensing control that can easily be integrated onto robots for a full system solution. Jetting systems work well in applications with uneven substrates or in high volume production use cases. Contact valves include needle valves, spray valves, aseptic valves, diaphragm valves, and more and which one to use is dependent on specific application requirements.

How are fluid dispensing solutions used in manufacturing hearing devices?

Fluid dispensing systems are an incremental part in many facets of hearing device assembly, including:

• Dispensing silicone to insulate electrode arrays
• Bonding a high-end fleece material onto a zinc-air battery
• Coating molds with primer/activators
• Prepping implantable receivers with a getter material

With medical devices, especially those surgically implanted, it is ever important that these devices function properly to ensure patient safety and avoid additional surgeries. Implementing manufacturing equipment you can trust and rely on is also key to ensure your products will pass FDA regulations.

What impact does fluid dispensing have on hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturing?

Fluid dispensing has a huge impact on hearing aid and cochlear implants. Manufacturers rely on precision fluid dispensing solutions to ensure they pass FDA requirements, are able to keep up with demand, and are able to produce quality products to provide patients with as seamless an experience as possible.

关于艾哈迈德·汗

Ahmed Khan 是诺信 EFD 精密流体点胶和自动化部门的全球产品经理。他为客户提供建议和解决方案，并帮助进行初始系统集成。Ahmed 拥有 13 年的流体点胶经验。他于 2013 年加入诺信 EFD，常驻英国。