Medtronic LABS launches ear-screening initiative for Uber drivers in India

New Delhi: Medtronic LABS announced the launch of an ear-screening initiative for drivers on the Uber platform across India. The testing will be conducted under Shruti, a flagship programme of Medtronic LABS, an outreach programme in the domain of ear care.

The ear screenings help assess the adverse impact of prolonged exposure to traffic noise on drivers and identify cases that need further medical attention. By addressing an often ignored health concern, the initiative aims to increase awareness about noise-induced hearing loss and to bring corrective measures to impact drivers’ lives.

The screening will be conducted using an ear screening kit called the ENTraview which is a custom-designed smart otoscope by Medtronic LABS. The kit has been specifically built for field usage and the initial screening takes less than two minutes. A telemedicine application on the device enables one to capture and transmit patient ID, symptoms, images of the ear, and preliminary diagnosis to a cloud server which can then be accessed by a clinician. Those who might need additional assessment for hearing loss are further assessed using additional applications. For those who might need clinical intervention, Medtronic LABS shall provide possible treatment pathways as may be applicable.

Kaustubh Bhatnagar, Chief Operating Officer, Medtronic LABS, said “Hearing loss is an invisible disability and ear care, in general, is often ignored. Shruti has been a path-breaking initiative that has created an enabling ecosystem across the ear care continuum. We are excited to partner with Uber to offer this comprehensive ear care programme to their driver partners.”

Commenting on the partnership, Shiva Shailendran, Director - Operations, India and South Asia, Uber, said “Our partnership with Medtronic is another step to address an often overlooked health concern and improve their experience with Uber. We believe that this initiative will help raise awareness and bring meaningful change in drivers’ lives.”

Medtronic LABS will roll out this initiative one city at a time starting with Bangalore followed by Hyderabad and Pune before scaling to other cities. The screening programme will be conducted at various strategic locations in each city to ensure that the maximum number of driver partners benefit from this initiative.