The Virt is a cutting-edge two-way camera IoT device that delivers a new era of connectivity for darts players and fans alike.
We are excited to announce that we are working on EarSwitch, a new medical technology that hopes to transform the lives of people living with neurological conditions, such as motor neuron disease (MND).
The technology
The technology is being developed by GP Dr Nick Gompertz and a team of researchers at the University of Bath and will allow people to communicate by tensing a tiny muscle in the ear.
The tensor tympani muscle is one of the smallest muscles in the body and connects to the malleus bone behind your eardrum. Tensing of this muscle causes movement of the eardrum, or an earclick. This movement is captured by a tiny camera (the EarSwitch sensor) which is positioned at the end of an earphone and can be used to operate an assistive keyboard.
It is believed that control of this muscle might be preserved in people ‘locked-in’ due to stroke, and in late-stage MND. Existing assistive devices can become unusable as neurological conditions such as MND worsen over time. EarSwitch might offer a breakthrough for individuals with the most severe communications restrictions.
Funding
The technology has recently been given a boost following two successful rounds of funding:
The first is a £1.45 million NHR Product Development Award (PDA). This will help the team develop the prototype into a product with the appropriate regulatory approval that is required for a medical device. Additional partners for this project include a manufacturing consortium and the Portsmouth Technology Trials Unit.
The second funding award is for £70,000 from NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i Connect). Working alongside Open Bionics, a local manufacturer of 3D printed protheses, this will be used to explore the possibility of using EarSwitch to control an upper-limb exoskeleton and prothesis.
The Product Partnership
We are delighted that we will be working on this project alongside our fellow The Product Partnership (TPP) partners Amalgam, Realise and NewIcon. Cubik will be leading the electronics development which includes core sensor research and implementation, electronics covering communication, data delivery, power, and collaborative integration.
We will keep you updated as this high-profile medical device development unfolds.
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