2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
Opportunity for Stakeholder Co-Design of a Novel, Affordable OAE Device to Scale Early Hearing Loss Identification
Over half of the 34 million children around the world with hearing loss can be diagnosed at birth. Dr. Patricia Castellanos, Au.D., Founder and Director of CEDAF notes, “Many countries do not have any technology for newborn hearing screening. CEDAF is the only organization in Guatemala providing newborn hearing screening. Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) is a great starting technology for countries 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 trained healthcare workers, our team aims to support universal newborn hearing screening and toddler/preschool hearing screening worldwide so that families can gain agency to make informed health decisions in order to improve their childrens’ life outcomes.” During interviews with audiologists, we learned 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 have discovered there is an opportunity to enable early screening to scale by creating a device that is 10x more affordable with a user interface that can be operated by people with limited medical training. Our next step is to co-create a smartphone-based OAE device with people who provide screening in under-resourced environments. We have already identified speakers and microphones suitable for the design of an affordable, smartphone-compatible OAE probe. 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:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.
Presenter: Elizabeth Johansen
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 -
Nonfinancial -