Our History

Advanced Bionics^® is a global leader in implantable neurostimulation devices (high technology bionics). The company was founded in 1993 to manufacture, and distribute the CLARION^® cochlear implant to treat deafness. Advanced Bionics evolved from two other highly successful companies that developed and marketed innovative medical devices, one which created new-generation pacemakers and one which developed novel microinfusion systems (miniature drug delivery pumps used in the treatment of diabetes).

The CLARION System's fundamental premise – that deaf patients would hear better with more options in how sound information is delivered to the auditory nerve – came from the research laboratory of the University of California at San Francisco. Intrigued by the notion of "making deaf people hear" Alfred E. Mann entered into a License Agreement with the University in 1988 for the right to make, use and sell the inventions of the University developed over the previous 15 years. Thereafter, a small team of engineers and scientists led by Dr. Joe Schulman, President and Chief Scientist of the Alfred Mann Foundation, and Tom Santogrossi, now Vice President of Manufacturing, began to develop the device in the Alfred Mann Foundation for Scientific Research, as well as MiniMed Technologies, Limited, the predecessor of Advanced Bionics.

Cochlear implants were selected as the initial product line for the company in order to take advantage of superior American technology in a relatively untapped market, previously served by only one, Australian-based company.

In March of 1996, the company received approval from the FDA to market our Clarion cochlear implant for use in post-lingually deafened adults, and in 1997, received approval to market its cochlear implants for use in children.

Since its debut in the commercial market in 2003, the HiResolution^TM Bionic Ear System has been the industry's technology leader. The newest HiRes 90k Implant and HiRes Auria represent the one of the most electronically-advanced medical implants in the world.