Scientists design a cheap device that can detect ear problems with the help of a smartphone

STAT July 8, 2022
Edward Chen

On a chilly October evening a decade ago, physician Michael Cohen arrived at Boston’s Logan International Airport lugging a hefty contraption, built like a tiny tank, that immediately drew the attention of airport security officers. It was a device to detect ear problems, and he and a colleague were hauling it around the globe — first on a redeye to Frankfurt, followed by Khartoum, and then on to Addis Ababa.

The device — called a tympanometer — was too pricey for many health care providers worldwide to afford on their own, so Cohen, an otolaryngologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, was shuttling it to colleagues in Ethiopia.

Now, a group of engineers and hearing specialists are working to tackle that...

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