Hugh J. McDermott
B.App.Sc.(Electronics), Ph.D.
Principal Research Fellow
The Garnett Passe & Rodney Williams Memorial FoundationDepartment of Otolaryngology
The University of Melbourne
384-388 Albert Street
East Melbourne VIC 3002
Australia
Ph: +61 3 9929 8665
Fax: +61 3 9663 6086
E-mail: hughm@unimelb.edu.auI have been with the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Melbourne since 1981. Early in 2001 I was awarded a 5-year Principal Research Fellowship by the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation. In addition, since 1999 I have been Deputy Program Manager and Project Leader in the Co-operative Research Centre for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Innovation. Currently my research interests are divided almost equally between cochlear implants and advanced hearing aids. The main aim of the research is to develop and evaluate improved sound processing techniques, including effective techniques for combining acoustic and electric signals for people with residual hearing who are implant users.
I am also closely involved in several research projects investigating the perception of music, speech, and other sounds with users of hearing prostheses. For example, I collaborate with Dr. Colette McKay on psychophysical studies investigating the perception of experimental electric stimuli, and, with other colleagues, study perception of acoustic signals by people with normal hearing or a hearing impairment. The outcomes of this research have often had direct application to the practical development of new or improved sound processing schemes for cochlear implants or hearing aids.
With my background in electronic engineering, much of my earlier work focused on the design of hardware and software for cochlear implant systems, and, more recently, for digital hearing aids. In 1989 I devised the Spectral Maxima Sound Processor (SMSP) for the 22-electrode cochlear implant then manufactured by Cochlear Limited. With several colleagues (particularly Andrew Vandali, Dr. Colette McKay, and Dr. Peter Seligman), I developed and evaluated this processor, leading to a successful commercial version, known as the Spectra-22/SPEAK processor. Since 1994 the SPEAK scheme has been the primary sound processing strategy provided by Cochlear Limited for use in their implant systems. The performance of the SPEAK strategy has been shown to at least equal that of any competitive processing scheme for cochlear implants presently available commercially.
My earlier research leading to the PhD degree involved the design of a receiver-stimulator (implantable electronic component) for an advanced cochlear implant. This device was implanted initially in three subjects, and several of the innovative features arising from its design have been incorporated into the most-recent version of the implant manufactured by Cochlear Limited.
Author: hughm@unimelb.edu.au
Last Updated: Wednesday April 06 2005