The startup, Immersive Hearing Technologies, is built on UofL research that uses VR to help patients test different models and program their hearing aids, all without leaving the comfort of the clinical setting.Ěý

As one of just selected for this year’s Vogt class by the Community Foundation of Louisville, the Immersive team — co-founders Jeff Cummins and UofL researcher, Matthew Neal — received $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding, participation in a 10-week startup accelerator program, coaching, mentorship, strategic introductions and recognition designed to boost the growth of their business.

Cummins, a seasoned founder who previously served as an entrepreneur-in-residence in the , said he was attracted to the technology and ultimately came on-board to launch the startup because it tackles a problem he himself has faced.Ěý

“I wear hearing aids and I know the challenges faced by individuals with hearing difficulty,” he said. “The technology has an opportunity to be a platform that revolutionizes how hearing aids are provided by allowing patients/users to listen to the hearing aids before they purchase them.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, one in eight Americans over the age of 12 have some degree of hearing loss and about 28.8 million adults could benefit from using hearing aids.

With this tool, audiologists could use a VR headset, tablet computer or a wide screen display to demonstrate how specific hearing aid models and settings would perform in different, realistic environments, such as a school, noisy restaurant, grocery store or church. Neal and his research collaborators developed the technology to help patients find the right fit.

“We want to help people choose the hearing aid and get it programmed specifically for the specific environments where they have trouble,” said Neal, of the UofL School of Medicine. “With virtual reality technologies, you can do that without leaving your audiologist’s office.”

Neal and collaborators have worked closely with the UofL Office of Research and Innovation and its and teams, who help translate research into products and commercialize them by partnering with industry or launching new companies. The office provided support for intellectual property and product development, entrepreneurial training and coaching, and a connection to Cummins.Ěý

As part of that support, the team participated in several of UofL’s innovation and new venture programs, including both the UofL site and prestigious nationalĚý programs for technology-backed startups. They also participated in the Pandemic-Related Product Acceleration & Responsive Entrepreneurship Program, orĚý, which partners UofL researchers with companies and members of the community to scale up innovative ideas addressing health, economic and societal issues caused by pandemics.Ěý

The team also completedĚý, UofL’s eight-week product innovation bootcamp, and received coaching from multiple UofL entrepreneurs-in-residence.ĚýThe entrepreneur-in-residence program is a partnership with , an organization working to grow Louisville’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, with funding from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

“The support of these programs and the Office of Research and Innovation team was invaluable in developing the technology to this point,” Neal said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the team to further develop, and ultimately launch, this product that could really improve the lives of those with hearing difficulty.”Ěý

The program provides training and $50,000 to develop new, technology-backed startups. The UofL team, led by School of Medicine research scientist Matthew Neal, completed an intensive, two-month boot camp learning about commercialization, engaging with industry and talking to more than 100 potential customers.

Neal and his collaborators — co-technical leads Pavel Zahorik and Shae Morgan, both in the audiology department — are developing a virtual reality-based technology to help patients test different models and program their hearing aids, without leaving the comfort of the clinical setting.Ěý

With this tool, audiologists could use a VR headset or a wide screen display to demonstrate how specific hearing aid models and settings would perform in different, realistic environments, such as a school, noisy restaurant, grocery store or church. The idea, Neal said, is to help patients find the right fit.

“It’s kind of like test-driving a new car and seeing how it performs in real-world conditions,” Neal said. “We want to help people choose the hearing aid and get it programmed specifically for the specific environments where they have trouble, and with virtual reality technologies, you can do that without leaving your audiologist’s office.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, one in eight Americans over the age of 12 have some degree of hearing loss and about 28.8 million adults could benefit from using hearing aids.

Following the I-Corps national program, the researchers now are developing a working prototype and considering various funding routes to continue research efforts and pursue commercialization of the technology. Their product development efforts are supported by business mentor Tendai Charasika, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in the UofL Office of Research and Innovation.

The team is also in a research partnership with both theĚýHeuserĚýHearing Institute, a not-for-profit hearing healthcare organization serving Kentuckiana, and Sonova, a hearing aid manufacturer.

“We are proud that our decades-long partnership with the University of Louisville to further the field of audiology with cutting-edge hearing healthcare technology has led to this recognition,” said House CEO Brett Bachmann.Ěý“CongratulationsĚýto Matthew Neal, Pavel Zahorik and Shae Morgan.

Teams must be nominated for the national I-Corps Teams bootcamp, and must first complete UofL’s regional I-Corps site program and , UofL’s product innovation bootcamp. UofL and partners recently received $15 million from the National Science Foundation to launch a new regionalĚýNSF Mid-SouthĚýInnovation CorpsĚý(I-Corps) Hub, one of only 10 across the U.S.

Neal’s team also received funding and coaching through UofL’s Pandemic-Related Product Acceleration & Responsive Entrepreneurship Program, or PRePARE, which partners UofL researchers with companies and members of the community to scale up innovative ideas addressing health, economic and societal issues caused by pandemics. The PRePARE program fostered the additional collaboration between UofL and Heuser Hearing Institute.Ěý

“These programs support commercialization of the work being done by our researchers here at UofL,” said Jessica Sharon, UofL’s director of innovation programs. “We’re proud of Matthew and the team at the Heuser Hearing Institute, and their work to accelerate product development of this innovation that addresses unmet needs in theĚý market and could help many people.”Ěý

The Pandemic-Related Product Acceleration & Responsive Entrepreneurship Program, or , partners UofL researchers with companies and members of the community to scale up innovative ideas. The end goal is to grow existing companies or spin up new ones to bring those ideas to market.Ěý

PRePARE announced its first round of projects in December 2021, each of which received project management, entrepreneurial support and up to $50,000 in direct costs to fund product development at UofL. In its second round, the program selected three new projects, and awarded additional funding to two existing ones.ĚýĚý

The new projects are:Ěý

• Data-driven personalized treatment for eating disorders: Researchers Cheri Levinson and Christina Ralph-Nearman (both from the College of Arts and Sciences) working with Awaken Digital Health Solutions;Ěý
• Development of evidence-informed mental health for student athletes: Researcher Becky Antle (Kent School of Social Work) working with UofL Health; andĚý
• A virtual reality software for listening with hearing aids in realistic environments: Researcher Matthew Neal (School of Medicine) working with Heuser Hearing Institute.Ěý

The two projects receiving additional funding are:Ěý

• OxyCART: An efficient and durable oxygen concentrator for COVID-19 and beyond: Researcher Gautum Gupta (J.B. Speed School of Engineering) working with medical equipment company, , and non-profit, ; andĚý
• Wicked Smart Pad: Washable bedding with sensors for the detection and mitigation of moisture events: Researcher Cindy Harnett (J.B. Speed School of Engineering) working with tech startup, .Ěý

“These are truly innovative ideas, and each one addresses an important social, economic, health or other challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Paula Bates, a professor of medicine who leads the program with the Office of Research and Innovation’s Will Metcalf, Sara Price and Jessica Sharon. “These products, backed by UofL researchers and community partners, have the potential to make a real impact that could help us recover faster from this pandemic and become more resilient against future ones.”Ěý

PRePARE is part of the UofL Office of Research and Innovation’s office, which works to launch and grow startups built on UofL intellectual property and helps to manage a suite of aimed at turning research into viable commercial products. UofL is one of only a handful of universities in the U.S. to receive each of these innovation-associated awards, and it’s the only one to receive all of them. Ěý

“PRePARE and UofL’s other translational programs create important connectivity between industry and our campus,” said Metcalf, an associate vice president for research and innovation who heads UofL New Ventures and helps lead the PRePARE grant. “That connectivity is critical to economic development, and I encourage researchers and industry who want to be involved to reach out to our staff at ventures@louisville.edu. By working together, we can build innovative companies and products that solve problems, like those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and make a positive impact on our world.”Ěý

The Pandemic-Related Product Acceleration & Responsive Entrepreneurship Program, or , partners UofL researchers with companies and members of the community to scale up innovative ideas. The end goal is to grow existing companies or spin up new ones to bring those ideas to market.

PRePARE selected five projects in this round, each of which receives project management, entrepreneurial support and up to $50,000 in direct costs to fund product development at UofL. Those projects are:

• Geolocation-enabled app to support first-generation Asian immigrants and their second-generation caregivers: UofL researchers Dee Antimisaris (public health) and Lihui Bai (engineering) working with the ;

• OxyCART: An efficient and durable oxygen concentrator for COVID-19 and beyond: Researcher Gautum Gupta (engineering) working with medical equipment company, , and non-profit, ;

• Wicked Smart Pad: Washable bedding with sensors for the detection and mitigation of moisture events: Researcher Cindy Harnett (engineering) working with tech startup, ;

• Utilization of Melanated Healthcare app to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans and persons of color: Researchers Mollie Aleshire (nursing) and Monica Wendel (public health) working with , an app developer aimed at preventing racial bias in health care; and

• Pre-commercialization prototype refinement and in vivo testing of a novel over-the-scope enteral feeding tube and enteroscope to improve severe COVID-19 nutrition support: Researcher Stephen McClave (medicine) working with medical technology company, .

“I’m extremely pleased with the strong and diverse group of projects in this first round of PRePARE funding, each of which tackles one of the many changes and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Paula Bates, professor of medicine and a lead on the grant. “By furthering these projects, we can make a real impact that not only hastens the end of this pandemic, but also increases resilience against future ones.”

Applications are now open for the second cycle of PRePARE project funding. UofL is soliciting ideas for filling unmet needs and solving problems from community partners in the seven-county Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency economic development district. The district, centered around Louisville, includes Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties.

Community partners can be individuals, companies or organizations. UofL students, staff and faculty also are encouraged to submit ideas. Ideas may be submitted through the .

PRePARE is part of UofL’s office, which works to launch and grow startups built on UofL intellectual property and helps to manage a suite of aimed at turning research into viable commercial products. UofL is one of only a handful of universities in the U.S. to receive each of these innovation-associated awards, and it’s the only one to receive all of them.Ěý

“Programs like PRePARE that create connectivity between industry and our campus are absolutely critical to innovation and economic development,” said Will Metcalf, an associate vice president for research and innovation who heads UofL New Ventures and helps lead the PRePARE grant. “By connecting our researchers with entrepreneurs and the community, we can work together to develop companies and products that solve problems, like those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and make a positive impact on our world.”