. . . Just wanted to revive the thread a bit and make sure everyone sees it. . .Also, did anyone hear back from the company yet or better yet, actually get an Audeo?
I heard back from them...here is the reply..less one link they put in
Thank you for your continued interest and support in Ambient and the Audeo technology. We apologize for the delay in responding to your email. We are in the process of updating our website for a more timely response time and to keep you as informed about the Audeo as possible.
We would appreciate hearing what you want from the Audeo. If you have a moment, please help us with the following survey:
1. Is this device intended for you or someone else? If someone else, please provide their name, age, gender, city and state).
2. Have you ever used other assistive technology for ALS (Example: Dynavox, headmouse…etc)?
3. If so, what has that experience been like? For how long have you used this device?
4. What determines your choice in choosing/switching to the Audeo?
5. What price would you pay for the Audeo (out of pocket)?
6. Would you rather be able to say anything but have it take longer OR say fewer phrases faster?
7. What is the most important thing for you regarding assistive communication technology?
8. How did you hear about us?
Ambient made some big strides toward getting the Audeo ready for large market selling to locked-in ALS patients. We have had a much better testing response as our software continues to improve. As we monitor in-progress testing, we anticipate around one-hundred available devices to the ALS market in the very near future. We will definitely keep everyone updated on how they can order/pre-order their device in the next month or so.
Fine-tuning the software component of the Audeo continues to be one of our biggest challenges. While we continue to look for the best and brightest talent to help, it is hard to recruit in these tough economic times. We kindly ask you to send anyone who has a passion for helping people who need this technology the most to our career link on our website.
Our hardware department also made a big leap forward in December. We were able to create a device roughly the size of an inch long and a few centimeters wide. We are still testing various adhesives to get rid of the small strap that holds the device on. We have found some that work, but may cause irritation in some patients; we also found some that would stick to concrete (!), and some that would not hold at all. It is still a trial and error development.
In other exciting news, Ambient and the Audeo will be featured in an hour long special on the History Channel. The producers there saw the Audeo as "history in the making". An entire crew came here to Champaign, Illinois for 13 hours of asking Michael Callahan, Co-Founder and CEO, questions and demos. We were given an estimated air date of mid-year 2009. We will be sure to keep you updated on that status.
If you have any exciting news you would like to share with Ambient, please don't hesitate to contact us. The feedback we get from patients and caregivers is the best way we can continue to make the Audeo better