SBIR Phase I: Comfortable, Easy-to-Insert Hearing Protection Earplug

SBIR 第一阶段：舒适、易于插入的听力保护耳塞

• 批准号: 2233135
• 负责人: Marc Ramsey
• 金额: $ 27.5万
• 依托单位: RAPA TECHNOLOGIES LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-15 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2233135&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Comfortable; Easy; Insert

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel hearing protection device which reduces the societal cost of noise induced hearing loss. Noise induced hearing loss is the one of the most prevalent occupational injuries in both US industry and the military, affecting more than 10 million workers at a total preventable economic cost exceeding $100 billion. Most employers rely primarily on personal hearing protection devices to limit exposure on a sustained basis. However, issues limit their real-world performance and leave a majority of wearers with sub optimal protection. Up to 80% of workers wear hearing protection in an inconsistent manner which significantly reduces their effectiveness. This project aims to develop a novel passive hearing protection device which significantly increases hearing protection by incorporating a pass-through communications channel in a form factor that enables proper insertion, comfort, and convenience, and is suitable for long term use and compliance. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop an earplug that incorporates a novel geometric design and materials to provide unique, tailored physical and acoustic properties. The design significantly increases sound reduction while preserving frequency balance and speech intelligibility to accommodate pass-through communications, in a form factor that enables greater comfort and convenience than traditional devices. Theoretical modelling of sound attenuation will be translated into prototypes that demonstrate performance measures in laboratory test fixtures, followed by a patient validation study. The project aims to demonstrate that the company’s new ear plug provides superior sound protection of up to 40 dB suppression while enabling improved communication. Incorporation of attributes preferred by users enables greater adoption compared to existing designs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）I期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是一种新型的听力保护装置，可降低噪声引起的听力损失的社会成本。噪声引起的听力损失是美国工业和军方最普遍的职业伤害之一，影响了超过1000万工人，总可预防的经济成本超过1000亿美元。大多数雇主依靠个人听力保护设备来限制持续的曝光。但是，问题限制了他们的现实表现，并使大多数佩戴者拥有最佳的最佳保护。多达80％的工人以不一致的方式穿着听力保护，这大大降低了其有效性。该项目旨在开发一种新型的被动助听器保护设备，该设备通过增加传递通信渠道以适当的插入，舒适性和便利性来大大提高听力保护，并适合长期使用和合规性。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）I阶段项目将开发一个耳塞，其中包含一种新颖的几何设计和材料，以提供独特的，量身定制的物理和声学特性。该设计大大提高了声音的降低，同时保持频率平衡和语音清晰度以适应传递通信的功能，以使其比传统设备更大的舒适度和便利性。声音衰减的理论模型将转化为原型，这些原型显示了实验室测试固定装置中的性能度量，然后进行患者验证研究。该项目旨在证明该公司的新耳塞可为高达40 dB的抑制作用提供卓越的声音保护，同时可以改善沟通。与现有设计相比，用户首选的属性合并能够提高采用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准，通过评估诚实地表示支持。