OtoScan wins Rep. Gerald Connolly’s 2022 Congressional App Challenge in Virginia’s 11th District

When asked what inspired the creation of OtoScan, the students said, ”Omkar: My brother had a lot of ear issues growing up and had to get multiple ear surgeries done. Thus, I realized the importance of ear health and otolaryngology very early on. When I looked more into this field and saw that otitis media, the second most important cause of hearing loss, affected roughly 1.3 billion people in 2013, I knew that I wanted to make an impact on something that affects so many people around me. There are no current options on the market that allow for inexpensive, accessible and rapid diagnosis with the touch of a button.

There was not a viable option that both captured images of the ear and diagnosed them, which gave us the idea to create one ourselves.

Sritan: As someone whose relatives all live in remote villages in India that lack the highest quality of medical care or expertise, I am always trying to work on projects that use translational medical science and technologies such as machine learning to make expensive tasks much more accessible and cost efficient. Additionally, the fact that otitis media is more prevalent in areas with less ENT specialists and proper healthcare inspired me to take up such an initiative to help people like those close to me (both in the United States and globally).

Together, we wanted to make a true impact and take a large step towards significantly reducing the number of people who face hearing complications due to otitis media by tailoring the solution to those who need it the most: low-income communities and areas with insufficient healthcare systems. We wanted to combine the latest advancements in bioengineering, telemedicine, and machine learning (+ computer vision) to create a product that helps millions.”