Date: May 31, 2013 Source: (
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Benson Medical Instruments has been awarded the United States Army's SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Grant to fund research for an ear protection validation system in cooperation with the Sensory Research Division of the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, which is located at Fort Rucker, AL. Phase I of the contract is underway, and is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2013.
hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss. hearing loss causes, tinnitus, protection, U.S. ArmyThe overall objective of the research is to develop a system that accurately verifies the fit of commercially available hearing protection that is worn by soldiers and workers exposed to occupational noise.
Benson Medical Instruments Co., headquartered in Minnesota, has a longstanding reputation for innovating in the hearing conservation field, and providing industry-leading audiometers and software for occupational health programs.
The company is a prime contractor of TriCare, the government's health care program serving uniformed service members. For this grant, Benson Medical is focusing on interactive technology to automate the assessment of earplug effectiveness for hearing loss.
"We are very excited about this SBIR Grant from the United States Army," David Mayou, Benson Medical Instruments' Sales Manager, said. "Our engineers and software programmers are applying their expertise to instrumentation for large-scale screening technology that will go a long way toward eliminating subjectivity in this field. Competing approaches rely heavily on human interaction, and because of the time needed, not all noise-exposed workers receive regular validation of the effectiveness of their hearing protective equipment."
