How do you accurately and objectively diagnose hearing loss, especially in children who might struggle to communicate their challenges? This problem has long puzzled clinicians and researchers alike. Traditional methods can be time-consuming and often require the patient's active participation—something not always possible with young children.

Enter Ben Somers, PhD, MBA, and his team from KU Leuven and ExpORL. They have developed a groundbreaking brain-computer interface (BCI) that offers a real-time solution for hearing diagnostics. By measuring brain responses through EEG as the patient listens to natural speech, this innovative technology allows for precise and objective assessments, making it easier to diagnose hearing issues swiftly and accurately.

Dr. Ben Somers, who studied electrical engineering at KU Leuven, has dedicated his career to improving speech processing and hearing diagnostics. His work, alongside his team, has earned them a spot as one of the 12 finalists for the prestigious BCI Award 2023. Their child-friendly hearing and speech diagnostics project, Corgee, is set to revolutionize the field and even become a university spin-off company.

Join us in this episode of Neurocareers: Doing the Impossible! as we delve into the details of this innovative BCI technology, explore Ben's journey from engineering to neuroscience, and uncover the incredible potential of their work to transform hearing diagnostics for children and beyond.

About the Podcast Guest:

Ben Summers studied electrical engineering at KU Leuven and started PhD project at KU Leuven in Prof. Tom Francart's group on developing objective metrics for speech processing with cochlear implants (2015-2020), then started a post-doc project on translating objective measures for speech processing to a clinical test for children (2020-present).

Their project for child-friendly hearing and speech diagnostics is called Corgee. Ben and his team are founding a university spin-off company to further develop their EEG tests as medical devices after the clinical trial.

Company's website: https://corgee.be/

LinkedIn pages: https://www.linkedin.com/company/corgee-hearing/

Anyone interested in reaching out to Dr. Ben Somers can do so via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-somers/

Articles mentioned in the podcast:

Ben's PhD work related to measuring auditory responses from cochlear implant electrodes: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84829-y

The current project aims to objectively measure speech understanding in children using EEG. First, normal-hearing children https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595523000977, and second, hearing-impaired children: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595523002058

About the Podcast Host:

The Neurocareers podcast is brought to you by The Institute of Neuroapproaches (https://www.neuroapproaches.org/) and its founder, Milena Korostenskaja, Ph.D. (Dr. K), a neuroscience educator, research consultant, and career coach for people in neuroscience and neurotechnologies. As a professional coach with a background in the field, Dr. K understands the unique challenges and opportunities job applicants face in this field and can provide personalized coaching and support to help you succeed.

Here's what you'll get with one-on-one coaching sessions from Dr. K:

Identification and pursuit of career goals
Guidance on job search strategies, resume, and cover letter development
Neurotech / neuroscience job interview preparation and practice
Networking strategies to connect with professionals in the field of neuroscience and neurotechnologies
Ongoing support and guidance to help you stay on track and achieve your goals

You can always schedule a free neurocareer consultation/coaching session with Dr. K at https://neuroapproaches.as.me/free-neurocareer-consultation

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A BCI for Real-Time Hearing Diagnostics with Ben Somers PhD, MBA

Neurocareers: Doing the Impossible!