By Jennifer Groth, M.A.
3) What advances do you see in the future? Can hearing device nanocoatings be improved further than their current level of protection?
One of the measures of effectiveness of nanocoating is the “wettability”, which describes how a liquid remains in contact with a surface. When water is applied to a surface with high wettability, it spreads out on the surface. If the wettability is low, it forms droplets. Wettability is quantified by the angle of contact formed between the surface and the water that is applied. The higher the angle, the more hydrophobic the surface is, with 180 degrees being the ideal situation. ReSound iSolate technology yields contact angles of 120 to 130 degrees, indicating a highly hydrophobic surface. Possible improvements in this technology could be made in the makeup of the polymer coating itself, which could result in even greater hydrophobic properties of the treated surface.