3DP & AM Chat: 3DP4ME | The Gift of Hearing | Jason Szolomayer & Gregor Ash | January 26, 2021

It was a true pleasure to have Jason Szolomayer & Gregor Ash stop by to share their path to overcoming obstacles on their mission of changing lives by bringing modern personalized 3D printed hearing-aid solutions to people with hearing loss in underserved communities in the Middle East. Harnessing the power of patient specific customization and scan to print, 3DP4ME is working with partners on fundraising efforts to make this dream a reality in 2021...

"We change lives by bringing modern solutions to people with hearing loss in low-income countries." - 3DP4ME.org

0:05 – Intro – Impact of 3D Printing serving human needs as a non-profit

1:28 – 3DP4ME.org = Giving the gift of hearing – Jason's 3DP journey – mentor relationship

3:42 - “The leg that fits” - Gregor's roots – Center for Design Based Innovation – custom orthopedic solution

5:32 – Patient specific – Scan to Print process precision

7:46 – Pivoting from prosthetics to hearing aids – technologies that bring access – end-to-end solution – process improvement

9:44 – Scan to fit process simplicity– end-to-end solution scalability – medical 3DP Rosetta Stone – converting data into a model

13:24 – Jason's inspiration – stories about giving the gift of hearing – overcoming obstacles

15:24 – Goal =12,000 hearing aids to 8.000 clients in Jordan.

16:27 – Legacy of Jason's mentor, brother Andrew De Carpentier.

18:05 – New facility and 5-year plan for assisted devices and AM production facility serving humanitarian needs.

22:11 – Passion behind the process to provide local collaboration for launching the pilot. Fundraising 3DP4ME.org

25:50 – Overcoming barriers to entry in Jordan to provide lower cost solutions for hearing aids

27:14 – 3D scan to print hearing aid custom iterations for growing children.

27:41 – Pilot project short term and long-term goals – digital thread – service delivery model

29:12 - ERP system – Google Cloud – set up for success

31:52 – University collaborations – technology transfer – fellowship program - “It takes a village”

33:31 – Plans for 2021 – year of realization

36:55 – 3DP4ME.org works from donations

Jason Szolomayer - https://bit.ly/2YDKfnb

Gregor Ash - https://bit.ly/3tl9Ork

3DP4ME.org - https://bit.ly/2MPn3Qk

3DP4ME- “3D Printing for ME (Middle East)”

Jason Szolomayer, is the point person for the Hearing ExpressTM Project in Jordan.

Currently, fundraising for the new lab space, staff, materials, and training.

Planning to establish and cultivate a reproducible, sustainable, social enterprise model leveraging 3D printing and 3D ear scanning technology.

Overall Project Goals:

To provide 12,000 hearing aids to 4,000 individuals who are in need of mono-lateral fitting (1/3) and 4,000 individuals who are in need of bi-lateral fitting (2/3).

To enable children who are hard-of-hearing to enroll in mainstream education and improve the potential for future employability, and to facilitate inclusion, employment and full participation in society by elderly persons who are hard-of-hearing.

To dramatically boost the hope of living a functional life for children and adults who are hard-of-hearing, thereby enabling them to better contribute to the wealth of the nation.

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