Professor Hugh McDermott is the Deputy Director of the Bionics Institute, and holds honorary appointments as a Professorial Fellow of The University of Melbourne in the Departments of Medical Bionics and Audiology and Speech Pathology.
In 2006 Hugh was appointed to the newly created Chair of Auditory Communication and Signal Processing at the University of Melbourne as full professor.
He held that position until 2010 when he joined the Bionics Institute. He is an elected Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and an elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He has over 30 years of experience in signal processing, electronic design, and perceptual research.
Hugh has authored more than 105 journal articles, 7 book chapters, and over 100 additional publications, and he has delivered more than 60 invited presentations. In recognition of “his leadership that has fostered scientific advances and significant developments in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders,” he became the first winner of the Callier Prize in Communication Disorders, awarded by the University of Texas, Dallas in 2009. Hugh is a named inventor on 19 patent families, and he has a further 10 patent applications currently being processed.
Several of his inventions have been translated into successful commercial products, including:
• Development of the Speak/ACE sound-processing scheme for cochlear implants. This scheme continues to be the most commonly used sound-processing algorithm in cochlear implants manufactured by the Australian company Cochlear Ltd. Over 200,000 cochlear implant recipients worldwide are now users of the Speak/ACE scheme.
• Development of the frequency-compression scheme for acoustic hearing aids known as SoundRecover, which improves the perception of high-frequency sounds and thereby increases speech intelligibility. The success of SoundRecover has led to its introduction in almost all hearing instruments manufactured by Phonak AG, a globally leading company based in Switzerland. Phonak is represented in over 100 countries and sells approximately 1 million hearing aids per year.
• Development of circuits for neurostimulators, including cochlear implants. As a PhD student, Hugh completed all aspects of the design and layout of a custom receiver-stimulator chip that implemented several unique technical features. Some of these innovations have been incorporated into the implant systems manufactured commercially by Cochlear Ltd today.
Research fields of interest
• Development of medical bionics devices
• Cochlear implants
• Hearing aids
• Biomedical engineering
Find out more about Hugh McDermott's experience
Hugh McDermott's highlights
Hugh McDermott's selected work
Enhanced Deep Brain Stimulation Electrodes For Improved Efficacy In Parkinson'S Disease Th..
Research Grant
Tailoring Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease Using Evoked ..
Journal article
Improving A New Form Of Deep Brain Stimulation To Treat Gait And Balance Disturbance In Pa..
Research Grant
Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease modulates high-frequency evoked and spontan..
Journal article
Monitoring Cortical Excitability Using A Probing Stimulus For Epileptic Seizure Anticipati..
Research Grant
On the neural basis of deep brain stimulation evoked resonant activity
Journal article
Hugh McDermott's selected work
Projects
Displaying the 9 most recent projects by Hugh McDermott.
Project Types
8
Research Grant
1
Research Contracts
Scholarly Works
Displaying the 143 most recent scholarly works by Hugh McDermott.
Keyword Analysis
Honours, Awards and Fellowships
First recipient of the Callier Prize in Communication Disorders
IEEE - Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
FASA - Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America
FASA - Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America
Credentials
Positions
Positions
Honorary
Audiology And Speech Pathology
Honorary
Medical Bionics Department
Senior Member
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Education
Education
Doctor of Philosophy
University of Melbourne
Bachelor of Applied Science
University of Melbourne