Auricle GTM brain

category

market profile

• text: Some patients retain low-frequency hearing yet struggle to understand speech despite hearing aids.
• text: Conventional cochlear implants can improve hearing but concern about surgery and residual hearing can deter patients.

personas

• title: Neurotologist or otologic surgeon
  pains:

  • Patients with residual hearing may decline cochlear implantation over potential hearing loss
  • Needs clinical evidence and a clear risk profile before recommending a new implant
• title: Audiologist at a hearing implant center
  pains:

  • Amplification may no longer make speech intelligible for severe high-frequency loss
  • Needs options and referral pathways for patients between hearing aids and cochlear implants
• title: Adult with severe high-frequency hearing loss
  pains:

  • Can hear voices but struggles to understand everyday conversation
  • Worries that surgery could sacrifice remaining natural hearing

icp

• text: Future clinical partners include audiology and otology centers treating adults with severe high-frequency sensorineural loss and residual hearing.
• text: Clinical study sites with implant surgeons and audiology assessment capacity are likely early stakeholders; commercial use is not yet available.

message pillars

• text: Focus on the gap between audibility and understanding.
• text: Aim to restore missing hearing while preserving residual hearing.
• text: Investigate an extracochlear approach designed to reduce invasiveness.

objections

• objection: Is this implant approved and available now?
  response: No. The company states the device is investigational, not FDA approved and not commercially available.
• objection: Will it preserve my remaining hearing and improve speech understanding?
  response: These are development goals, not established outcomes for every patient. Review future clinical evidence and discuss eligibility and risks with a specialist.

competitors

• name: Cochlear
  why: Established cochlear implant manufacturer offering a treatment alternative.
• name: Advanced Bionics
  why: Cochlear implant manufacturer serving severe hearing loss.
• name: MED-EL
  why: Hearing implant manufacturer including cochlear and electric-acoustic solutions.

influencers

• name: Francis Wong
  url: https://franciswong.com/about-me/
  why: Co-founder and CEO working on neural hearing restoration.

keywords

• high frequency hearing loss speech understanding
• hearing preservation implant
• extracochlear stimulation
• hearing aids not helping speech
• cochlear implant alternatives
• sensorineural hearing loss treatment

voice

• Patient centered and empathetic
• Careful about investigational status
• Clear and explanatory

signals

• text: An implant center sees patients with poor speech recognition who retain useful low-frequency hearing.
• text: A clinical research center is investigating hearing preservation or novel auditory neurostimulation.

pricing

motion

channels

• clinical research partnerships
• Stanford Biodesign network
• LinkedIn

confidence

Founders

• name: Francis Wong
  title: Founder
  role: Founder
  bio: I'm Francis, a UK-trained surgeon who worked in the National Health Service as a surgeon for 5 years. In 2012 I moved to the Bay Area to get my MBA/MPH at UC Berkeley. I've worked in several product management roles at startups including 23andMe and Castlight Health. I also founded Outcomes, Inc., a digital health startup enabling the routine use of patient-reported outcomes. Prior to Stanford, I worked at Haven in Boston and co-founded Auricle out of the Stanford Biodesign Fellowship.
• name: Jay Dhuldhoya
  title: Founder
  role: Founder
  bio: I am a medical device engineer and entrepreneur with a BA from Columbia and an MS from Rice in biomedical engineering. I have led R&D, quality, and manufacturing projects at Element Science, an SF-based Class 3 medical device start-up. I recently completed the Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellowship where I co-founded Auricle.