Designing a better solution For The listening to Impaired In Botswana

Ten years in the past, whereas touring a school for the deaf in Botswana, Tendekayi Katsiga revealed something alarming. even though the universities got listening to aids by means of NGOs, the batteries had died after about a month and have been too pricey to exchange. because of this, students with listening to impediments—many of whom had never realized to read—had hassle following alongside in the study room.

finding that different faculties for the deaf in rural Africa were experiencing the identical problem, Katsiga founded Deaftronics and quickly went to work on a sunlight-powered hearing help. Priced at $200 a unit, the hearing assist is more inexpensive (most other fashions cost at the least $600) and its sun battery can ultimate for as much as three years, or 500 charges, the use of both daylight or fluorescent lighting fixtures. moreover, Deaftronics’ batteries work with eighty% of the listening to aids on the market, and the charger even geared up with a usb circuit so users can cost their phone.

“The question was once not only ‘How do you present a listening to support?’ however ‘How do you keep a hearing support working?'” says Katsiga. to oversee the design course of, Katsiga recruited individuals with hearing impediments who provided feedback all over a couple of phases of prototyping. “We started working with them and so they equipped us with the solution—everything from how the product will have to appear to the way it must be shipped.”

the problem reaches a ways past Botswana. in line with the arena health group, over 5% of the arena’s population—360 million folks—has disabling listening to loss. because it launched in 2009, Deaftronics has bought 10,000 hearing aids throughout 40 African countries. The hearing aids have allowed three,000 hearing impaired children to attend faculty.

In July, the corporate used to be certainly one of 30 finalists that had been requested to attend the international Innovation thru Science and technology (GIST Tech-I) summit, a US department of State initiative that seeks to seek out impactful science and technology firms. The exposure, Katsiga hopes, will permit Deaftronics to take its know-how beyond Africa, as well as increase its product line.

“now we have realized that providing an affordable solar-powered listening to support will not be the solution to fighting listening to impairment,” says Katsiga. while still in the early stags of building, the company can also be growing an cell app that allow customers to check for early signs of hearing loss.