Medical Design Briefs - March 2022 - 32

In the future, with FDA approval, the
team's goal is to use the device to image
fallopian tubes in patients with a high
cancer risk. While it will likely be several
years before the device is FDA approved,
manufactured, and available on the market,
this milestone represents a critical
step forward in a process that has been
over a decade in the making - and
could ultimately change ovarian cancer
screening protocols forever.
The work to develop a clinical translation
of the device has been funded by
the U.S. Army since 2018. Barton also is
working with Tech Launch Arizona, the
UArizona office that commercializes
inventions stemming from university
research, on strategies to eventually
bring it to the marketplace. TLA has
filed three patents for technologies
behind the device.
This article was written by Emily Dieckman,
University of Arizona. For more information,
visit https://news.engineering.arizona.edu.
New Technology Offers Better Diagnosis of Dizziness
The vibrating device uses
bone-conducted sounds to
achieve better results.
Chalmers University of
Technology
Gothenburg, Sweden
Patients with dizziness problems can
now get better diagnosis in a simple and
painless way. A new type of bone conduction
speaker, easily attached behind the
ear, can make the diagnosis more efficient
and safer - especially for patients who
also suffer from hearing problems. The
technology has been developed by
researchers at Chalmers University of
Technology, Sweden, and is now ready for
manufacturing.
Hearing and balance are closely
related. For patients with dizziness,
this relationship is used for diagnosis.
Commonly, a VEMP test (Vestibular
Evoked Myogenic Potentials) is performed.
A VEMP test uses loud sounds
to evoke a muscle reflex contraction in
the neck and eye muscles, triggered by
the vestibular system - the system
responsible for balance. Instead, the
Chalmers University researchers are
using bone-conducted sounds to
achieve better results.
" We have developed a new type of
vibrating device called B250 that is
placed behind the ear of the patient
during the test, " says Bo Håkansson, a
professor
in
the
research
group
Biomedical Signals and Systems at
Chalmers. " The vibrating device is
small and compact in size and optimized
to provide an adequate sound
level for triggering the reflex at frequencies
as low as 250 Hz, which we
have found to be optimal for VEMP
stimulation. Previously, no vibrating
device has been available that was
directly adapted for this type of test of
the balance system. "
32
Cov
Patients with dizziness problems can now get better diagnosis in a simple and painless way. A new
type of bone conduction speaker, easily attached behind the ear, can make the diagnosis more efficient
and safer - especially for patients who also suffer from hearing problems. (Credit: Chalmers
tekniska högskola/Johan Bodell)
In bone conduction transmission,
sound waves are transformed into vibrations
through the skull, stimulating the
cochlea within the ear, in the same way
as when sound waves normally go
through the ear canal, the eardrum, and
the middle ear. This can be used in various
technologies. Håkansson has over 40
years of experience in this field and has
previously developed hearing aids using
this technology.
n Dizziness: A Common Problem in
Older Patients
Half of people over age 65 suffer from
dizziness, but the causes can be difficult
to diagnose for several reasons. In 50
percent of those cases, dizziness is due to
problems in the vestibular system. But
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current VEMP methods have major
shortcomings and can cause hearing loss
and discomfort for patients. The VEMP
test uses very high sound levels and can,
in fact, cause permanent hearing damage
itself. And, if the patient already suffers
from certain types of hearing loss, it
can sometimes be impossible to draw
any conclusions from the test.
" The previous test was like a machine
gun going off next to the ear - with
this bone conduction method, it will be
much more comfortable. The sound levels
to which patients are exposed can be
minimized. The test can be performed
at 40 decibels lower than today's
method, which uses air-conducted
sounds through headphones. This eliminates
the risk that the test itself could
Medical Design Briefs, March 2022

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Medical Design Briefs - March 2022

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