User:Lindseykoehn/sandbox

Earmold (Ear Scan)
Earmolds present a variety of challenges. They can be inconsistent, time consuming, or inaccurate. This is why, in the early 2000s, a new idea for determining the anatomical shape of the individual's ear canal began circulating. The Navy often had issues with earmolds, for the fact that once the initial impression was taken, the impressions would have to be shipped to a manufacturer before the hearing protection could be made. This made imperative personal protective equipment often time consuming and difficult to obtain. This is why the Navy then began looking for universities to create an anatomical 3D model of the ear using a scanner. The idea was that these scans could be sent electronically to manufacturers almost instantaneously. Karol Hatzilias from Georgia Tech undertook inventing an ear scanner, which has since then been successfully integrated onto Naval ships. This technology has slowly been working its way into clinical settings. Many different companies have come up with their own version of ear scanning.