Sound Pharmaceuticals are developing a drug that can protect against hearing loss. Otoprotection drug trials have been conducted on animals and have shown success. Two of four potential drugs already have been approved for human use to treat other diseases. In addition, they are also examining the regeneration of auditory hair cells.

Endevco and National Instruments are developing plug-and-play sensors. The sensors have in-built low-cost memory chip that contains information about the transducer stored in the Transducer Electronic Data Sheets (TEDS). Information such as calibration data will be automatically read by a signal conditioner or analyzer, thereby eliminating calibration errors. The TEDS format conforms to the IEEE standard P1451.4, which was in part developed by National Instruments.

Read more on the Endevco web site.

Elsevier Science has bought out Academic press, and transferring ownership of journals and online services. The IDEALAlert service (email notification of table of contents) is also ceasing on December 31, 2002. To receive free alerts about IDEAL journals (Journal of Sound and Vibration, Digital Signal Processing, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, Journal of Fluids and Structures, and others), by signing up for:
– ScienceDirect alerts, available for all the over 1,700 journals
on the platform, and accessible at
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/alerts.
– ContentsDirect, providing alerts for Elsevier Science journals
and books, and accessible at http://contentsdirect.elsevier.com/.

MSC Laminates is an off shoot from Material Sciences Corporation that makes laminated steel products. Their QuietSteel product is damping material that has been sandwiched between two layers of sheet steel. I have heard that this product is used in every oil pan on US cars. Recent news articles have appeared describing how Ford are using it in the firewall of their larger vehicles to reduce noise transmitted into the cabin.

Read more on the MSC Laminates web site.

The European Commission’s SILENCE program, Significantly Lower aircraft Environmental Noise Community ExposuRe, aims to reduce the noise from commercial aircraft. The research program involves 51 companies. Rolls Royce and Boeing developed a modified engine that was flight tested on a Boeing 777 that resulted in jet noise reduction of 4 dB and fan noise reduction by 13 dB.

Read more on the SAE Aerospace magazine online web site.

Researchers have developed a technique that uses an ultrasonic probe to examine tissue samples. The advantage of this technique is that tissue can be examined in-situ, without removing samples and that the tissue does not need staining. The resolution of the technique is useful to examine cells, down to about 0.1 micron.

Read more on the Physics Today web site.

Bruel and Kjaer USA are selling used and demo equipment at discounted prices. Check out their products listed on their web site.

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) are selling a CD that contains more than 1,200 papers, many of which are in full color, this comprehensive collection includes documents from SAE Noise and Vibration conferences from 1985 through 2001; and selected papers from 1998 through 2002 SAE World Congresses.

Read more on the SAE web site.

National Semiconductor have released two new products, the LMV1012 and LMV1014 are the first “amps in a mic,” integrated directly inside 2- and 3-wire electret condenser microphones. The built-in gain of 17dBV has been optimized for handset microphones.

Read more on the National Semiconductor web site.

Brüel & Kjær the pioneering company in the field of measurement of sound and vibration are celebrating their 60th anniversary and are offering trade-ins for their old sound level meters, sound intensity probes, old analyzers and first generation Pulse equipment.

Read more on the B&K web site.