Bangalore Entrepreneur Gets Award for Baby Deafness Detecting Device

Neeti Kailas, an entrepreneur from Bangalore, is among 5 global designers to bag the Rolex Award for Enterprise 2014 for designing a cheap, easy-to-use device to improve hearing loss screening in newborn babies.

Kailas is a former student of National Institute of Design and runs the Sohun Innovation Lab in Bangalore with her husband Nitin Sisodia, who is an engineer.

Screening with Hearing Tests
Ideally, screening tests for hearing loss should be conducted before the infant is 1 month of age.

The award was also given in recognition of her ongoing efforts to build a network of healthcare professionals in India, who would include pediatricians, healthcare workers and maternity homes, who are involved in diagnosing and treating deafness in babies.

Established in 1976, The Rolex Awards for Enterprise recognizes a new or ongoing project in any part of the world that works towards improving quality of life or protecting the world’s natural and cultural heritage. Each award involves a cash prize of 33,000 pounds.

The portable device designed by Kailas is battery operated and noninvasive that can screen babies for hearing loss in India.

Presbycusis (Age-related Hearing Loss)-Causes-Symptoms-Diagnosis-Treatment-FAQs
Presbycusis (age related hearing loss) is the gradual loss of hearing that occurs as people get older. Presbycusis involves progressive sensorineural hearing loss.

Presently, India holds a record of nearly 100,000 hearing-impaired babies born every year.

There are currently no regular hearing screening tests available in India. The available ones are costly and require skilled healthcare workers to handle them.

Audiometry - The Hearing Test - Audiometer - Procedure - Audiogram - Types
Audiometry or the hearing test helps to determine the ability of a person to hear various sounds and consequently identify the location of damage in a person with diminished hearing sensitivity.

Timely detection of hearing problems is very essential since untreated hearing impairment can hamper speech, language and cognition development in babies at 6 months of age.

Kailas said “To me, design is about problem solving, and thinking about how I can have maximum impact on society. In a country like India, that’s never going to happen by designing the next lemon squeezer.”

Add a Hearing Screening To Your Kids' Holiday Gift List That Includes Earphones And Music Players
Parents say that just yelling turn it down isn't enough when young people are blasting music directly into their ears via earbuds and headphones.

The Department of Biotechnology, the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, as well as the Centre for Innovation in Global Health in the US and Canada’s Grand Challenge have extended their support to Kailas’ project.

Kailas anticipates device usage in about 2% of births in the first year of launch and thereafter widespread usage of the device.

Kailas’ goals are to reach out to every child in India with the hearing screening test and to design a screening test in the future for vision problems in babies.

Source-Medindia