Western University Uses AI and 3D Printing to Keep Pace With Children’s Growing Ears - 3DPrinting.com

• Western University Uses AI and 3D Printing to Keep Pace With Children’s Growing Ears April 3

Researchers at Western University have launched a four-year, $4.4-million (USD) project that uses artificial intelligence and 3D printing to produce custom hearing-aid earmolds for children before they’ve outgrown the ones they’re wearing. The ALLEars project, funded by the Oberkotter Foundation and developed in partnership with Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska, aims to replace a slow, reactive process that currently leaves some children waiting up to 21 days for replacement earmolds. The core problem is straightforward: children’s ears grow fast, and earmolds that fit perfectly one month won’t fit the next. The World Health Organization estimates 34 million children worldwide are deaf or hard of hearing, and hearing aids can’t function correctly without a custom-fitted ea