Submitted
Maternal & Newborn Health

Solar Ear

Team Leader
Monica Weinstein
Solution Overview
Solution Name:
Solar Ear
One-line solution summary:
Newborn hearing screening & holistic hearing loss prevention program based on an Android Platform
Pitch your solution.

Globally,60% of the 34 million infants with a hearing loss is from preventable causes,75% of them live in low/middle-income countries (LMIC) Contributing to this problem is the lack of audiologists and cost of hearing testing equipment for newborns, plus the lack of education for expectant mothers. We will invent the first hearing test using proven medical protocols on newborns using the Android phone. The  Big Data will be a free bi-product which we will share with Ministries of Health with the goal of making newborns screening part of public policy as there are no statistics of hearing loss in LMIC's. We will have a language-neutral free carton app for mothers showing the 5 main ways to prevent hearing loss with their baby. An infant with a hearing loss if helped before the age of 3 can then develop speech and the opportunity to go to a public school.   

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Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?

An estimated 718,000 newborns each year have detectable hearing loss and the WHO expects this to grow by 33% in the next 20 years. Neonatal Screening is an initial process of evaluation that allows early detection of possible auditory problems. Infants diagnosed with this deficiency are referred to interventions where they can receive appropriate treatment. It is important that hearing impairments be diagnosed as early as the first days of life to minimize possible risks on the child's cognitive psychosocial development. We aim to mitigate the effects of early hearing loss by offering both mobile healthcare workers and those in clinics and hospitals a diagnostic device, their own Android phone. In developed countries, there is 1 audiologist for every 20,000 people, in LMIC's 1 professional for every 2 to 6 million people. The cost of the equipment starts at $10,000. There is virtually no professionals nor equipment outside of any capital city

Eighty (80) percent of hearing loss occurs after birth but 60% can be prevented through a maternal hearing education prevention program, (a free app) which includes educating mother's on the proper ways  to breastfeed, the importance of  vaccinations, the effects of ototoxic drugs and proper home ventilation.

What is your solution?

The Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions Test  (OAE) consists of a simple, painless and non-invasive examination that consists of the positioning of a probe (microphone plus phone) that can send and receive biological signals in the child's ear and, with the aid of a specific device, is able to inform whether or not the child has hearing impairments. We will invent the first OAE test for newborns using an Android phone. We aim to mitigate the effects of early hearing impairment on infants by offering both mobile healthcare workers and those in clinics and hospitals a diagnostic device in order to increase the accessibility of screening. OAE screening is the current international standard of care that does not require any newborn response and by using a cell phone is user-friendly. The age, gender location, and type of hearing loss will be collected and shared with local Ministries of Health as no data exists on hearing loss in newborns in LMIC's. We will meet all European and  US, patient privacy regulations.

For the newborn hearing loss prevention app it will be a language neutral game type app and include a free crowdmapping app where  a mother can get more local help and information. 

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

We have 4 direct and several indirect stakeholders. Our OAE test can be used by secondary healthcare working in LMIC's on newborns. The WHO has promised from the data we have collected to share it with Ministries of Health with the goal of making newborn screening part of public policy. Our Maternal hearing loss prevention program is directed at mother's but also we will joining the resources of the hearing-aid industry, the commercial sector, INGO's, user organizations, donors and other stakeholders.The activities focusing on these target areas can be carried out more effectively than by Solar Ear alone. 

We are working with audiologists in Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, and Brazil to ensure we meet the needs of their country plus  we will pilot in their country for the OAE test. 

 Print material has been developed  for maternal hearing loss prevention program will come from the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management and Global Foundation For Children with Hearing Loss. We will work with  engineering student at the University of Sao Paulo to gamify these materials so that even  women who are illiterate will be able to understand the way to prevent hearing loss with their baby

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
  • Expand access to high-quality, affordable care for women, new mothers, and newborns
Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

We combined the Theory of Change Model taught at MIT with the frugal innovation model we studied at Santa Clara Univerity, GSBI program. Our focus is on newborns and their mothers in LMIC's in general Latin America and the Caribbean in particular. For the past  18 years, we have been selling solar-powered hearing aids made by people who are deaf to people with hearing loss in this region. Our goal is to lower hearing loss and the burden of hearing loss, not to sell more hearing aids in an affordable, accessible, scalable sustainable  manner  

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil
What is your solution’s stage of development?
  • Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model
Who is the primary delegate for your solution?
Howard Weinstein
More About Your Solution
About Your Team
Your Business Model & Funding
Partnership & Prize Funding Opportunities
Solution Team:
Monica Weinstein
Monica Weinstein
Co- Founder