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University of Bath win University Research Readers' Choice award in collaboration with Earswitch Ltd at Elektra Awards 2021
Research Collaboration
University of Bath x Earswitch Ltd
The Elektra 2021 Awards took place on Wednesday 1st December at a Gala Dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
The award was for the project most likely to make the largest impact on the commercial market in the next five years.
Earswitch Ltd - A revolutionary assistive technology being developed by GP Dr Nick Gompertz with a team of researchers at the University of Bath hopes to offer people with conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) new ways of communicating via a computer.
Earswitch Ltd has developed a prototype that allows people to communicate by tensing a tiny muscle to operate an assistive keyboard, like the one used by the late Professor Stephen Hawking. But whereas for Stephen Hawking communication relied on him tensing a muscle in his cheek, this new device uses a tiny, hidden muscle in the ear.
The device is linked to the tensor tympani muscle, which for some can be controlled voluntarily. This muscle is one of the smallest in the body and was once thought to help protect the eardrum from loud noise.
It is believed that control of this muscle might be preserved in people ‘locked-in’ due to stroke, and in late-stage MND. This is important because current existing assistive devices can become unusable as neurological conditions such as MND worsen over time. As such, Earswitch might offer a breakthrough for individuals with the most severe communications restrictions.
Congratulations to Earswitch Ltd and the University of Bath research team and thank you to everyone who voted!
More on the project supported by the SETsquared Scale-Up Programme.
