Biomedical and mechanical engineering professor Rong Zhu Gan’s device is an implantable hearing system crafted over a seven-year period that solves many of the problems associated with conventional hearing aids, Gan said.
The device increases the ear’s mobility instead of simply amplifying sound in an acoustic way, research assistant Xiying Guan said.
The device can be implanted with low surgery risks and will be inexpensive compared to current partially-implanted devices, Gan said.
“The human ear is a very delicate area,” Gan said. “It is a very small area, and it is a very complicated area.”
Currently, the only option for patients with partial hearing loss is to wear a conventional hearing aid on the outside of the ear, Gan said.
The hearing device is the most recent of Gan’s work in hearing science.
She began working to create the device when she came to OU in 2000 and first produced a patented hearing aid in 2007.
Gan was recently recognized for an ear model patent at “A Tribute to the Faculty” on Thursday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.
Gan’s hearing device is not in use, but the team has conducted lab and cadaver testing, said Gan’s partner in the project, Dr. Mark Wood.
The team is hoping to move forward with the device, Wood said.
“It’s a great idea, we are in a investigational stage and we are hoping to take the next step,” Wood said.
Wood is an otolaryngologist, or ear, nose and throat doctor.
Once the research team receives funding, clinical testing of the device will take place, Wood said.
During this process, the team will identify patients who could use the device and conduct the first implant surgeries, Wood said.
Their hearing aid design will be showcased in a medical magazine in the coming months, Gan said.
The team hopes companies will become interested in funding production of the project, Gan said.
http://www.oudaily.com
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου