166 - How MindMics is Transforming Earbuds into Acoustic Health Sensors

While previous attempts to incorporate health sensors in earbuds faced challenges like comfort, battery drain, and a lack of compelling use cases, there are ongoing developments to overcome these issues. One company, MindMics, has developed technology that allows users to monitor heart rate and other health characteristics acoustically, using the ear canal as a microphone. Dr. Anna Barnacka, the founder and CEO of MindMics, explains that their technology utilizes sound waves generated by the body to provide insights into health, making it a non-invasive and promising method for health monitoring. MindMics leverages the existing microphones in earbuds, including those used for active noise cancellation (ANC), to capture these sound waves below 20 Hz. This approach eliminates the need for additional sensors and ensures that users can simultaneously listen to audio while monitoring their health. For more information on MindMics technology, visit their website here: https://www.mindmics.com/ Be sure to subscribe to our channel for the latest episodes each week and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn and Twitter. - https://twitter.com/WeekinHearing - https://www.linkedin.com/company/this-week-in-hearing - https://hearinghealthmatters.org/thisweek/