The Technology
According to the World Health Organization, over 5% (466 million) of the global population suffer from some sort of disabling hearing loss [1]. The annual cost of unaddressed hearing problems is estimated to be above $750 billion, mainly due to inappropriate treatments [1]. 75% of kids under age 3 suffer from acute or chronic otitis media at least once, while inappropriate treatment is given to 13% of them and sometimes result in unnecessary surgeries [8]. The main reason for that is incapability of the current diagnostics methods to resolve the necessary details in the mechanical transduction of hearing mechanisms. They refer to the ear as a ‘black box’, often leading to misdiagnosis and as a result, recurrent infections, suboptimal treatments, unnecessary physician visits and interventions.
By providing high-sensitivity measurement of nanometric-scale movements, the proposed method cracks the black box of the hearing process and provides precise insights about individual parts of the hearing chain. The system measures the true mechanical response of the ear, enabling detection of early signs for hearing loss and disorders. The device can be easily integrated as an add-on, into the existing compact otoscopes, routinely used by clinicians. This solution provides highly sensitive, non-invasive technology that is compact, fast and easy to use for diagnosing numerous hearing disorders.
Advantages
- Non invasive
- No pain
Applications and Opportunities
- Tympanic membrane diagnostic
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