AsianScientist (Dec. 1, 2014) – Five inspiring young individuals received the 2014 Rolex Awards for Enterprise at a ceremony held at London’s Royal Society on November 17, 2014. Among them was Ms. Neeti Kailas from India, who won the prize for her design of a device that can be used to screen for hearing impairments in newborns.
The failure to address hearing difficulties before six months of age can hinder the development of speech and cognitive abilities, severely curtailing the prospects of children born with hearing impairments. Unfortunately, current methods to diagnose hearing impairments in babies require expensive equipment and specially trained staff, services often not available to the nearly 100,000 hearing-impaired babies born in India each year.
Kailas’ portable and affordable device allows healthcare providers to non-invasively diagnose hearing impairments in newborns. With plans to begin clinical testing in tertiary hospitals by early 2015, Kailas intends to first focus on hospital births, before moving out into community screening. “Our vision is to screen every single baby born in resource-poor settings,” she said.
First launched in 1976 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Oyster chronometer, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise are given out every two years. Designed to recognize creative individuals working to improve lives, or protect the world’s natural and cultural heritage, nominations are open to all nationalities.
The other winners of the 2014 Rolex Awards for Enterprise are Rwanda’s Mr. Oliver Nsengimana, Mr. Francesco Sauro from Italy, Mr. Arthur Zang from Cameroon and Mr. Hosam Zowawi who hails from Saudi Arabia. Each Young Laureate will receive 50,000 Swiss francs (~US$52,000) to further their projects.
Asian Scientist Magazine is a media partner of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise.
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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Rolex Awards for Enterprise.
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