OAE Hardware
The trends we have observed in the OAE market can be characterized by various generations of OAE equipment:
- The first generation started with the releases of ISA-card systems for the PC, such as the ILO-88 from Otodynamics, and for the Macintosh the Virtual 330.
- The second generation started with the release of devices which could be easily connected to portable PCs such as the IL0-292 from Otodynamics and the Capella systemfrom MADSEN.
- The third generation started with the release of autonomous PC-independent devices such as Echo-Screen from Natus.
- The fourth generation of OAE equipment refers to handheld devices which automate as much as possible neonatal screening with OAE and AABR testing procedures (see the AccuScreen from GN-Resound, the AudioScreener from Grason Stadler, or the Scout-Sport from Natus-Biologic).
- From 2010 a fifth generation of devices made its appearance to the OAE scene. These devices can assess hearing with OAEs, AABR and PTA protocols (see the Sentiero by PathMed).
- From 2014, a possible sixth generation of devices appears in the market unifying AOAE and tympanometry measurements (see the Otostat handheld device by Mimosa Acoustics). There is no consensus if this category is a separate one or a sub-category of the fifth generation devices.
The material on the OAE devices is presented in two ways:
- A Detailed List of manufactures mentioning the models currently in the market. It is possible to get detailed information on each model by clicking on it. To contact the manufacturer's web site you can click on manufacturer's name. For historical reasons (i.e. a number of models disappearing from the market) the detailed list is sub-divided with information up to 2014 and from 2015 and beyond.
- A Synthetic Table summarizing manufacturers and models. With this table you can quickly judge if a product fits your clinical or research needs. Due to different economical policies in different countries, the prices of the products are not mentioned. Again for historical reasons (i.e. a number of models disappearing from the market) the detailed list is sub-divided with information up to 2014 and from 2015 and beyond.