2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
DUKE ENERGY CONVENTION CENTER
Affordable Infant Hearing Screening Device for Under Resourced Communities
Every year, 100 million newborns do not get their hearing tested at birth due to the lack of availability of audiologists and the cost of testing equipment in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. We are a team of engineering and business students from Babson and Olin Colleges’ Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship program. Based on interviews with over 30 deaf or hard-of-hearing adults, six technical advisors, and 18 audiologists and clinical experts from ten countries, we created this purpose statement: “By offering an affordable otoacoustic emissions (OAE) device to under-resourced organizations, we aim to support trained community stakeholders in providing early childhood hearing screening worldwide, starting in Guatemala, so that families can gain information on their hearing health to make informed decisions in order to improve their child’s life outcomes.” We are collaborating with Dr. Patricia Castellanos and CEDAF, the only source of audiology services in Guatemala. They have also built a proven, community-based newborn screening program. Interviews with CEDAF and other audiologists, emphasized that the cost of devices is a major barrier to implementing universal hearing screening. Through component cost analysis of existing devices, identification of expired patents, and collaboration with the social benefit business Solar Ear, we discovered that there is an opportunity to enable early screening to scale by creating a device that is 50-80% of the cost of current devices with a user interface that can be operated by community members after a short training. To this end, we have developed an initial OAE prototype that accommodates a standard, washable, silicone ear tip, icon-based user interface, and robust circuitry to provide clear early identification of hearing loss. Now we seek co-design collaborators experienced in screening newborns and young children in under-resourced areas to provide early concept feedback to guide the design of the first fully functional device.
- New technology innovations in hearing screening.
- Discuss affordability of hearing screening technologies.
- Evaluate undergraduate student team’s progress.
Poster:
3420032_15586ElizabethJohansen.pdf
Presenter: Luke Milroy
Senior at Olin College studying Robotics Engineering
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Junior at Babson College
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -
Junior at Babson College
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Junior at Babson College
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Senior at Babson College
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Senior at Olin
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Junior at Olin College of Engineering
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Senior at Olin college of engineering
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Dr. Patricia Castellanos de Muñoz is the founder and medical director of CEDAF Hearing Center in Guatemala City, and the only audiologist in Guatemala. She is well-known throughout Latin America as a leading expert in audiology, with over 25 years of experience in diagnosing and treating hearing loss in various settings: hospitals, clinics, schools, and philanthropic foundations, for patients of all ages from newborn to elderly. Dra. Castellanos is also the founder Sonrisas Que Escuchan (Smiles That Listen), a philanthropic organization to treat hearing impaired children and adults in Guatemala.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
David Brown, PhD is a professor and Director of Audiology SIMLab at Pacific University. Dr. Brown has an interest and expertise in diagnostic audiology, speech in noise, otoacoustic emissions, wideband immittance, and hearing screening in a pediatric population. He has numerous publications and presentations on these topics.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Pacific University.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Global experience in hearing healthcare across clinic / academic / corporate and non-profit sectors.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Howard Weinstein is a social entrepreneur and businessmen with experience launching and implementing social businesses, specifically with and for individuals with disabilities. In 2002, he co-founded SolarEar, a solar-powered and affordable hearing aid designed, manufactured and distributed by the hearing impaired, which became the largest non-profit hearing aid company with distribution in 43 countries. He also served as Business Development Director at Camp Hill Community Trust in Botswana, where he launched several sustainable businesses for people with disabilities. Prior to entering the development field, he served as president of a plumbing supply company. He received his B.A. from Concordia University and his MBA from Syracuse University. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese and speaks sign language.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Elizabeth is faculty with the Olin College and Babson College Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship program, and the founder and principal consultant for Spark Health Design. Elizabeth uses human-centered design to help collaborators develop world-class technologies that lead to better health outcomes globally. As an engineer, product designer, human factors engineer, and program lead, Elizabeth has contributed to seven products launched including Jana Care’s Aina A1c point-of-care diagnostics test app and kit for managing chronic disease in India and SE Asia; and Design that Matters’ Firefly phototherapy device currently treating newborns with jaundice in hospitals in over thirty low- and middle-income countries.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
relationship for Other volunteer activities.