Etteplan helps to design and produce the battery-charging device for Oticon Medical

Oticon Medical offers bone anchored hearing systems and cochlear implant solutions to address the needs of different patient groups, especially those who face the hardest hearing challenges. With its origins in Oticon, and as a member of the William Demant Group, they are international market leader in hearing healthcare.

Oticon Medical needed to extend their capacity in product development to meet the demand for innovative products in a new business area. They enlisted the help of Etteplan (previously TekPartner*) to design and produce the battery-charging device for a cochlear implant system that went on to win prizes for its groundbreaking design.

“After entering the cochlear implant market in 2013, Oticon Medical immediately started an ambitious programme to upgrade the product portfolio in a relatively short period of time. It therefore made sense to focus our resources on core business when we were tasked with designing the new sound processor, the Neuro 2. That’s why we decided to outsource the product development of the Neuro 2 battery-charging device.

Etteplan stood out as a supplier that could deliver an end-to-end service. This was especially important to us, as our experience with this type of outsourced product development was limited at the time. One thing is designing the product – another is producing it. As a development house, it’s clear that Etteplan is used to providing a full scope of resources, and that’s a key service. They involved the right experts from start to finish to get the job done.

"One thing is designing the product – another is producing it. As a development house, it’s clear that Etteplan is used to providing a full scope of resources, and that’s a key service. They involved the right experts from start to finish to get the job done."

Luuk van den Poll Thomsen

Senior Project Manager, Oticon Medical

Step-by-step guidance

Another factor in us choosing Etteplan was the level of detail in the proposal, which showed that they understood the solution and what it would take from a financial and technical point of view. Etteplan guided us through every stage of the product development methodology so we knew what to expect in terms of project implementation and deliverables.

We ended up with two versions of the design and two prototypes during the product development phase before piloting the system. The communication throughout the entire project was excellent. I felt we had the right mix of informal updates as well as scheduled milestone meetings.

The Neuro 2 charger is part of a medical device system, which means that it needed to fulfil very high standards and tests. Etteplan drove the certification of Neuro 2’s battery-charging device, e.g. certification process at certification bodies, test reports, quality assurance and acceptance tests, so that we could launch the system onto the market.

Benefit of a global network

Our collaboration with Etteplan on this project lasted two and a half years from first contact to production. It included Etteplan working closely with our teams in Denmark and France, coordinating with our partners in China and Switzerland, and selecting a supplier for us in Thailand when it came to handing over production and the electronic manufacturing process. So we got a feel for Etteplan’s international professionalism and global reach.

Overall, we feel that Etteplan had a good understanding of how much guidance and involvement we needed. It was the right balance between keeping us informed at every stage without overloading us with too much detail, and taking care of the accessories project so we could focus on core product development.”