mDREET-mobile,Detection,Research,Education,Equipment,Trainin

One of the main reasons for this discrepancy is the access to the screening tests needed to diagnose hearing impairments. Where in most developed countries there is on average one audiologist for every 20,000 people, while in developing regions, such as Africa, that number can be one for every two to six million people. This extreme shortage of health specialists means that most impairments go undetected and unmanaged for a larger number of individuals across the globe. In addition to access, the combined costs of traditional hearing aids, $1800, and batteries, $1/week, is far out of the price range for many individuals in developing countries. We realized that to meet our goal of lowering hearing loss and its burden we would need to bring the hearing assessment and resources out to the communities that lack access to specialist or the ability to pay for high-cost equipment. This is where mDREET comes in. mDREET, which stands for mobile, Detection, Research, Education, Equipment, and Training, is a tried and tested health care program that looks to break down these barriers to by taking holistic approach to solving the challenges posed. With our innovative smart phone hearing test app, pure tone, we managed to bring a cost effective and mobile way to screen for hearing impairments to those communities that traditionally lacked access.

The technology consist of hardware and software. On the hardware there are 2 calibrated headphones and a mobile device. As the software its installed in the mobile device which is synchronized with the calibrated headphones. For hearing screening ,a patient puts on the headphones (left & right as marked) and the Social Worker will switch on the mobile on and it will immediately go into the hearing screening app. The social worker will press a button and the sound will be produced at different frequencies and decibels, then the patient is supposed to raise their hands in response to the sound output. This sequence is repeated simultaneously on the other ear. After completion of the hearing test ,graphs will be produced showing the status of the hearing of the patient. A worker social will give recommendations from the results and recommends hearing aids if the patient suffers from a hearing loss.

With early identification and appropriate assistance deaf people can be as successful in school, employment and participation in society as their normally hearing peers. Hearing impairment had been widely ignored on the African continent.50% of deafness and hearing impairment is avoidable through prevention, early diagnosis, and management. In developing countries, less than one fifth of deaf people receive any education, and most cannot read their own name or count to 10. Deaftronics has therefore answered to this call by providing affordable devices and affordable hearing screening test solution through mDREET application.

Deaftronics piloted hearing screening using its mobile application in four African countries namely Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda, and Botswana. Such milestones indicate that Deaftronics is in right course to achieving its objective. Deaftronics has piloted their mDREET program, acquiring the initial round of testing equipment, training partners and audiologists who have performed the testing, and ultimately launched their program across four different countries. Before progress was halted as a result of fighting COVID-19 pandemic, The result of the pilot was a data set of 2800+ hearing test performed on those young and old, and in rural and urban communities. In this group a staggering 21% of the individuals tested had some form of hearing loss that would require a hearing aid, proving that there is an unmet need. It is our mission to continue to expand our program by developing our own proprietary equipment to reduce operational cost, training more individuals help scale their testing operations, and partnering with other organizations to expand our outreach. Deaftronics has shown dedication to creating a holistic, sustainable solution to uncovering hearing loss and empowering those with it. We have piloted an easy to use and portable app to help shine a light on the number of people with hearing loss. In addition, Deaftronics developed a low cost, solar powered, hearing aid to be able to give the gift of hearing to those in need. We have partnered with NGO’s, Industry Leaders, and Government bodies to help increase our reach, impacting more lives in more communities. And finally, we have provided training, resources, and education to individuals and families to help them better integrate into their communities.

Our leading figure in our organization is Mrs. Sarah Catherine Molema, she is the co-founder of our organization. She is hearing impaired. Having been a recipient of hearing aids at a tender age, she realized that the batteries die down the first month. Sarah is an award-winning Social Entrepreneur who founded Deaftronics, an organization which produces high quality low-cost solar powered hearing aids, made by people who are hearing impaired for people with a hearing loss. She is part of a team which developed the first rechargeable hearing aid battery, which lasts for 2-3 years and can be used in 80% of hearing aids on the market today. She trains hearing impaired people in Electronics Assembly.

Deaftronics is owned and operated by Batswana hearing impaired individuals, who are also internationally certified in micro soldering techniques used in the aviation industry. This is the technology used in the manufacture of the Solar Aid charger, also referred to as Solar Ear internationally. The organization mission is to empower deaf people through training and employment and become the largest employer of hearing impaired people in Botswana.

Deaftronics aims to empower the hearing impaired by creating employment opportunities and helping them better integrate into the deaf community. The company achieves this objective by providing training to and employing young, hearing-impaired individuals to design its products. As a result, a sense of loyalty and pride is established amongst the deaf community, as the company contributes towards social upliftment of the hearing impaired. It has so far provided training and empowerment to different deaf centers including the National Institute for the Deaf, Cape Town in South Africa, Access Ear, Amman in Jordan, and Solar Ear, Sao Paulo in Brazil. Our goal is to make sure that every hearing-impaired child has access to a solar powered hearing aid, thereby presenting them with an opportunity to go to school. We believe that through education we can break the cycle of poverty.

Deaftronics comprises of highly skilled Technicians  in Micro-Soldering Technology. The team is committed in advancing the lives of people living with a hearing loss especially children. Deaftronics has secured commitment from individuals of significant standing from varied backgrounds who have volunteered to support in an advisory capacity. Members of the Advisory Board constitute the company’s customers, ENT professionals and Government officials.

We are looking for funds to purchase more devices for providing hearing tests and hire distributors (health workers) to reach out to our different communities. The funds will be used to develop promotional materials, testing tracking, monitoring and evaluation forms and others as developed. Hire Project Manager and train. Hiring independent firm to collect the data. The funds will also be used travelling and accommodation for distributors. Smartphone calibration.

Awarding Deaftronics with the funds would benefit the entire hearing-impaired community throughout Africa. Deaftronics would be able to intensify its effort and impact in making hearing health services accessible for the marginalized communities in Africa. Test over 3 million individuals per year within 3 years. Replicate our mDREET program 10 African countries. More governments will screen babies for hearing loss at birth since it is more cost effective to treat hearing loss in a baby versus finance a child in a school for the deaf later in life. Create jobs for 1K microentrepreneurs,10% with a disability.

-To work with MIT mentors and specialist in supply chain to help identify the best distribution channels that will have the highest reach ND define the right price point for testing. 

-To work with mentors with expertise in marketing to develop different promotional materials that will serve varying customer markets.

 -To define a set of a training tools to build a field of highly effective distribution partners and workers who feel empowered and motivated by the DREET methodology.

The World Health Organization estimates that over 626 million people globally having disabling hearing loss almost two thirds of which come from low to middle income countries. One of the main reasons for this discrepancy is the access to diagnose hearing impairments. Where in most developed countries there is one Audiologist for every 20 000 people, while in developing regions ,such as Africa ,that number can be one for every two to six million people. The extreme shortage of health specialists means that most impairments go undetected and unmanaged for a larger number of individuals across the globe. In addition  to access, the combined costs of traditional hearing aid costs $1800,and batteries,$1/week, so far out of the price range for many individuals in developing countries. We realized that in order to meet our goal of lowering hearing loss and its burden we would need to bring the hearing assessment and resources out to the communities that lacked access to specialists or the ability to pay for high-cost equipment. This is where mDREET comes in. mDREET, which stands for mobile, Detection, Research, Education, Equipment, and Training, is a tried and tested health care program that looks to break down these barriers to by taking holistic approach to solving the challenges posed. With our innovative smart phone hearing test app, pure tone, we managed to bring the cost down from $50 to a $1.We provide hearing screening to communities that traditionally lacked access.

-We have a strategic plan and Theory of Change that outlines our 5 year target of creating 10,000 jobs for social workers ,10% with a disability and distributing 500,000 solar powered hearing aids to school going pupils how we and we will accomplish these objectives. We also have an impact management plan that details how we will measure and manage our successes and failures

-Within 5 years, lower hearing impairment for 20 million people and improve the ability to communicate for.

- Test over 10 million individuals per year within 5 years. 

-Replicate our mDREET program in Nigeria and Kenya.

-Increase access to hearing aids for school going children by 20 percent in 5 years.

-How many hearing tests are social workers are performing - measured logging tests on the cloud? Target= 100 a week

-How many that were tested and had a hearing impairment and got a hearing aid? -  if they didn't why not? 

-Cost savings-How many of the people who got tests are from low income backgrounds.

-What are the outcomes of the recipients?

-Equipped women to be financially independent from earnings of the project.

-Easy access for affordable hearing screening.

Inputs

- Equipment, tools used in the assembly of components.

- Materials for solar charger and electronic assemblies.

- Infrastructure i.e., assembly plant where manufacturing process is conducted.

- Training of the distributors who conduct screening through mDREET.

- Technical expertise training - experts in electronics assembly.

- Purchase of special calibrated noise cancelation headphones.

Outputs

- Factory assemblers will be able to produce completed units of the solar powered hearing aid that comprise of four rechargeable batteries, solar charger, and a hearing aid.

- Distributors conducting hearing screening tests and assessments.

- Distributors are equipped fully with knowledge on the functionality of the mDREET app.

-Our inputs include training distributors who will conduct hearing screening through the mDREET application. Through the transition to the output, we need to understand on how many hearing tests distributors are conducting by being measured into logging onto the cloud. A distributor’s target is to screen 100 people per week. As part of the activities, we can also understand the number of tests that were conducted and had a hearing impairment and got a hearing aid? If they did not, why? On the outcome we can understand the number of people who are diagnosed with hearing impairment and issued a hearing aid device.

The average income in Nigeria is $50 per month. Our distributors/social workers have a potential to earn $600 per month through hearing screening. They will be financially sustainable and eager to test more people so that they can earn more.

 Our mobile application require an android smartphone (for inputting and receiving test results), testing software application, a sound processing device (SPD) and the Cloud. It also requires noise cancellation calibrated headphones. Data is stored in the cloud, it can be assessed in real time.

At the helm of the organization is Co-Founder Mr. Tendekayi Katsiga and  hearing-impaired Ms. Sarah Phiri Molema. The two jointly founded and own Deaftronics with Ms. Sarah Phiri Molema controlling 60% shareholding. 70 percent workforce are females. Deaftronics aims to empower the hearing impaired by creating employment opportunities and helping them better integrate into the deaf community. The company achieves this objective by providing training to and employing young, hearing impaired individuals to design its products.

Full set of Solar Powered Hearing Aids (Solar charger, hearing aid & 4 rechargeable batteries (100USD or BWP1200).After factoring the cost of production, including salaries and raw materials, Deaftronics adds a mark-up of 40% on all the three products we sell. Usually, the selling price of the hearing aid unit fluctuates around US$100. Normally operational costs include rentals, salaries, freight, and marketing. Traditional hearing screening costs US$50 whereas Deaftronics mobiles screening costs only US$1. This massive reduction enables screening for everyone hence improving easy access to quality healthcare service for the most vulnerable communities in Africa. We also do repairs for all hearing accessories which constitutes 10% of our revenue. Training contributes 15% of our revenue.

In our pilot project we found out that there proving that there is an unmet need. We looked at our distributors, we made the link between hearing tests conducted as compared to those that were not tested. We concluded that we need to hire and train more distributors especially women who can visit the underserved communities and conduct the hearing tests. In the process we are empowering distributors through our shared revenue model, as a result they are financially sustainable, given the fact that the average monthly income in Kenya and Nigeria is $100.The distributors have an opportunity to earn up to $600 and more. Traditional hearing screening costs US$50 whereas Deaftronics mobile screening costs only US$1. This massive reduction enables screening for everyone hence improving easy access to quality healthcare service for the most vulnerable communities in Africa. Our market entry includes partnering with players who are already dealing with hearing healthy solutions both in Nigeria and Kenya respectively. Customer Acquisition includes partnering with big unions such Teachers Union, Trade Unions, Mining Associations, and we would provide hearing screening at a discount. We would provide them with our products in advance and then they will sell to their workers who suffers from a hearing loss.

Additional revenue streams being considered include customized ear plugs and 3D ear molds products and a funding pool that could provide a financial return.

As  part of the Johnson & Johnson Africa Innovation Challenge, Deaftronics was awarded (U$50,000) piloted mDREET program, acquiring the initial round of testing equipment, training partners and audiologists who have performed the testing, and ultimately launched our program across 4 different countries. The result of the pilot was a data set of 2800+ hearing test performed on those young and old, and in rural and urban communities.  In this group a staggering 21% of the individuals tested had some form of hearing loss that would require a hearing aid, proving that there is an unmet need. It is now our mission to continue to expand our program by developing our own proprietary equipment to reduce operational cost, training more individuals help scale their testing operations, and partnering with other organizations to expand their reach.

Deaftronics has shown dedication in to creating a holistic, sustainable solution to uncovering hearing loss and empowering those with i.e. We  have piloted an easy to use and portable app to help shine a light on the number of people with hearing loss. Deaftronics developed a low cost, solar powered, hearing aid to be able to give the gift of hearing to those in need. We have partnered with NGO’s, Industry Leaders, and Government bodies to help increase our reach, impacting more lives in more communities. And finally, we have provided training, resources, and education to individuals and families to help them better integrate into their communities.