OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Clearwater Clinical, a Canadian medical device company that recently developed an adapter (Clearscope) that connects an endoscope to a smartphone to allow physicians the ability record endoscopy procedures directly on their smartphones rather than having to rely on a traditional video tower, wants to develop a self-directed hearing test to help individuals currently underserved by audiologists.
In a recent Medcity News interview, Clearwater Clinical CEO Michael Weider says he sees the tablet-based testing platform, called Shoebox, as a way to make hearing tests more accessible and portable.
According to Weider, Shoebox has the potential “to tap into an unmet need… by changing the whole interface of how hearing tests can be done by making it simple.”
Not Intended for Direct-to-Consumer Market
According to the Medcity report, there are two versions of the Shoebox test — one aimed at children and another for adults. Weider calls the current practice of conducting hearing tests in a booth as “antiquated and expensive.”
https://vimeo.com/124633911
Clearwater’s approach is intended for use by primary care physicians, audiologists and for companies in industries that are required to provide audio testing for employees such as the oil and gas industry. Weider added that the company’s test could also be used to evaluate people with cochlear implants to ensure the devices are functioning properly.
He emphasized that the Shoebox test is not designed for the direct-to-consumer market.
