Human helpers: European assistive tech & medical devices
Euronomy Team
Most people don't think about hearing aids, prosthetics, stoma bags, or stairlifts until they need them. When they do, the brands that show up are mostly European, and disproportionately Danish.
Hearing aids: Denmark and Switzerland lead
Five manufacturers control roughly 84% of the global hearing aid market, according to a 2025 analysis by the American Economic Liberties Project. Four of the five are based in Europe: Sonova (Switzerland, Phonak), Demant (Denmark, Oticon), GN Group (Denmark, ReSound and Jabra) and WS Audiology (formed when Denmark's Widex merged with Sivantos). The fifth, Starkey, is American.
Austria's MED-EL is one of the few serious cochlear implant makers worldwide.
Ostomy and continence care
Denmark's Coloplast is one of the global leaders in ostomy and continence care. It is the name many patients and nurses know first.
Prosthetics, wheelchairs and stairlifts
Germany's Ottobock is one of the biggest names in prosthetics. Iceland's Össur, now part of the Embla Medical group, is another leader in the field. Sweden's Permobil is a standard name in powered wheelchairs. The UK's Stannah is one of the best-known stairlift makers.
How these medical devices are regulated
Medical devices sold in the EU carry the CE mark. It shows the device meets EU safety and performance rules. Some brands below are based outside the EU, such as Sonova in Switzerland and Stannah in the UK.
Medical brands worth knowing
Below are the brands that quietly make the equipment people depend on. Many have been around for decades.
Demant (Oticon, EPOS)
Known for: One of the world's three biggest hearing-aid makers (with Sonova and GN). Foundation-controlled structure protects long-term R&D horizons most listed competitors can't match. The Oticon brand is the technical reference in the hearing-aid industry.
GN Group (ReSound, Jabra)
Known for: The other Danish hearing-aid giant (after Demant) — plus the world's leading enterprise-headset brand via Jabra. The combined hearing + audio strategy is structurally unusual in medical devices and gives GN consumer-tech reach Demant doesn't have.
WS Audiology (Widex / Signia)
Known for: Formed by the 2019 merger of Denmark's Widex and Sivantos (German, ex-Siemens audiology) — now the third-largest hearing-aid maker globally. EQT plus founding families control it; remains a structural counterweight to the listed competitors Demant and Sonova.
Sonova (Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton)
Known for: World's largest hearing-aid maker by revenue. Acquired Sennheiser's consumer audio business in 2022 — a deliberate move into the consumer hearables/over-the-counter hearing-device category that's reshaping the industry.
MED-EL
Known for: Family-owned Austrian cochlear-implant specialist — one of three global players (with Cochlear Ltd and Sonova's Advanced Bionics). Founded by Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, who developed the world's first multi-channel cochlear implant. Family control through three decades is unusual for a major medical-device maker.
Ottobock
Known for: Family-owned German prosthetics-and-orthotics leader. Most of the world's bionic-limb innovation runs through Ottobock R&D — the C-Brace and Genium knee systems set the technical standard. Critical infrastructure for veterans-care and rehabilitation systems globally.
Össur
Known for: Iceland's most globally significant company by export-share. The Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthetic is the running blade used by most Paralympic sprinters. The Rheo Knee is one of two microprocessor knees competing with Ottobock's Genium.
Permobil
Key markets: Global — premium tier of powered-mobility devices for users with severe disabilities
Known for: Sweden's premium powered-wheelchair specialist. Wallenberg-orbit ownership (Investor AB's industrial subsidiary). The F5 Corpus is widely considered the technical benchmark in powered wheelchairs — driven by users with the most complex mobility needs.
Coloplast
Known for: Family-foundation-controlled Danish medical-device specialist. Founded by Elise Sørensen (a nurse who invented the first adhesive ostomy bag for her sister). One of the most-respected European medical-device makers — quietly critical for the daily quality-of-life of millions of patients globally.
Stannah
Known for: British family-owned stairlift institution — 155+ years old and still family-controlled across six generations. The most enabling product on any human-helpers list for people who want to stay in their own homes longer.