Case Study: Cochlear Technology Center Belgium accelerates hearing aid development with COMSOL Multiphysics

Cochlear Technology Center Belgium cuts prototype testing time 5.7x with Comsol

Sonion, a designer and manufacturer of miniature components for hearing instruments, faced the challenge of developing highly sensitive and robust transducers that must be extremely small, power-efficient, and reliable. Their multiphysics devices involved complex tradeoffs between electrical, magnetic, and acoustical performance, and required analysis of strong nonlinearities. To accelerate R&D and avoid costly design iterations, Sonion turned to multiphysics modeling and simulation with COMSOL Multiphysics® software and its add-on modules.

Using COMSOL, Sonion implemented a solution that allowed them to create accurate virtual prototypes. This enabled them to efficiently study magnetic interference from external sources and precisely quantify acoustic effects in components like MEMS microphones. The results were significant; simulation reduced the time required for testing a single design concept by a factor of at least 5.7, drastically cutting development time and R&D costs. By leveraging the solution from COMSOL, Sonion improved their prototyping process, increased the number of learning processes per euro invested, and enhanced their ability to develop advanced, high-quality hearing aid technology.

Cochlear Technology Center Belgium