Mark Haggard
MRC Inst. of Hear. Res., University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Successful application of science and technology to improve human welfare, as seen in the career of Frank Cooper, requires a sensitive awareness of human needs and limitations. This talk illustrates how the drive for scientific understanding has interacted with concern for human welfare in producing two types of instrument (auditory warnings and auditory diagnostic or screening devices) in which the Medical Research Council of the UK has made major investments in recent years. Successful development requires a good grasp of engineering principles, well-judged investment in enabling technologies, correct description of the need to be met, and evaluation of the real life usefulness of the devices.