Saad Bhamla

Bioengineer

Role: Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Pronouns: he/his

Race/Ethnicity: India

Education: PhD Chemical Engineering, Stanford University; B.S. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Fun Facts: His name means ‘happy’ in arabic. Thus, the extra ‘a’ in Saad changes the meaning..

About His Work: Saad Bhamla is a bioengineer who invented a do-it-yourself hearing aid made from inexpensive, easy-to-find parts. The no-frills device, described in a new study, could help restore hearing to millions suffering from age-related hearing loss—for less than the price of a bottle of water.

Watch & Discuss

Without insurance, our medical bills could be thousands of dollars with each routine trip to the doctor. And some of the care we need isn’t even covered by insurance - like hearing aids. Much of that high cost comes from the astronomical prices of medical equipment. Just one pair of hearing aids costs around $5,000. Saad Bhamla talks about his work in frugal science and the impact it’s having on the medical field.

  • What are other ways advances in technology have improved the quality of life for those with disabilities?

  • Why is accessibility such an important part of designing an app and how can engineers better understand their audience when building an app?


Extension Activities

Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT) can dramatically improve the lives of people with hearing loss. Assistive listening systems and devices bridge the gap between you and the sound source by eliminating the effects of distance, background noise, and reverberation. Explore some of the links here to gain a better understanding of how technology is helping address our biggest accessibility challenges.