At the age of 75, Australian bionic ear pioneer Professor Graeme Clark has been awarded one of surgical science's most prestigious awards, the Lister Medal, for his leading role and contributions to surgical science with the multi-channel cochlear implant. Professor Clark's pioneering research was conducted at the University of Melbourne during the 1970s. By 1977, the main remaining problem to be overcome was how to get the implant into the required region of the inner ear. The breakthrough occurred during a day at the beach with his family, when Clark noticed the similarities between the helical structure of a seashell and that of the human cochlea. By experimenting with inserting grass blades into the seashell, he realised that the key was to use a design for wire electrodes having a stiff base, and more flexible tip.
The resulting cochlear implant became the first means of providing speech understanding to profoundly deaf children and adults. Today more than 200,000 cochlear implants have been performed in over 100 countries around the world. The company formed to commercialise the invention, Cochlear Limited, continues as an inspiring example of successful Australian innovation.
While Cochlear Limited continues to innovate, and build its patent portfolio, in relation to the commercial cochlear implant, Professor Clark is continuing his own research on improvements to cochlear implants, at the Graeme Clark Centre for Bionic Ear and NeuroSensory Research, based out of Melbourne's La Trobe University. His current interest is high fidelity hearing, with the goal of creating an implant capable of allowing the deaf to better distinguish speech in noisy environments, and to enjoy and appreciate music.
The Lister Medal is named for English surgeon Joseph Lister, whose discovery of the antiseptic properties of carbolic acid paved the way for modern sterile surgery. The Medal selection is made by the Royal Society, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, the University of Glasgow, The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Two other Australians have previously received the Lister Medal: penicillin pioneer Howard Florey and transplantation surgery expert Sir Peter Morris.
Before You Go…
Thank you for reading this article to the end – I hope you enjoyed it, and found it useful. Almost every article I post here takes a few hours of my time to research and write, and I have never felt the need to ask for anything in return.
But now – for the first, and perhaps only, time – I am asking for a favour. If you are a patent attorney, examiner, or other professional who is experienced in reading and interpreting patent claims, I could really use your help with my PhD research. My project involves applying artificial intelligence to analyse patent claim scope systematically, with the goal of better understanding how different legal and regulatory choices influence the boundaries of patent protection. But I need data to train my models, and that is where you can potentially assist me. If every qualified person who reads this request could spare just a couple of hours over the next few weeks, I could gather all the data I need.
The task itself is straightforward and web-based – I am asking participants to compare pairs of patent claims and evaluate their relative scope, using an online application that I have designed and implemented over the past few months. No special knowledge is required beyond the ability to read and understand patent claims in technical fields with which you are familiar. You might even find it to be fun!
There is more information on the project website, at claimscopeproject.net. In particular, you can read:
- a detailed description of the study, its goals and benefits; and
- instructions for the use of the online claim comparison application.
Thank you for considering this request!
Mark Summerfield
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