Called Infantix, the equipment has the distinction of being the first technology of its kind in the world and is capable of differentiating between the occurrence of conductive losses and those caused by neural damage, Granma newspaper reported.

Telecommunications and electronics engineer Ernesto Velarde, head of this project at CNEURO, told the newspaper that another characteristic of this scientific tool is that it has a system designed to couple different modules, depending on the test and the signal records.

In order to perform otoacoustic emissions tests, he stressed, the module is equipped with an attachment that has microphones and speakers, taking into account that the clinical analysis consists of the emission of a sound by the device and the capture of the echo.

In this way, information is obtained on the functioning of the entire middle and inner ear and, based on data; the equipment performs the required analysis and issues a result.

In the case of a potential related to vision, the patient receives a visual stimulus, and the screening or research system evaluates the brain’s response.

This way, it can evaluate everything from the state of the retina and the optic nerve to the part of the brain cortex in charge of visual processing.

This screening detects different ophthalmological conditions, such as congenital cataracts and optic nerve neuropathies.

The importance of this diagnostic method lies in detecting any hearing and visual disorders in newborns as early as possible through a universal screening, before they are discharged from maternity hospitals.

International and Cuban researchers agree that children who are born deaf or suffer partial hearing loss but receive adequate treatment in the first six months of life, when they reach five years of age have acquired the same cognitive abilities as infants without hearing loss (the most common congenital defect in the world) and achieve a normal life.

In 2019, Infantix was registered by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices for hearing screening and in 2020 for visual analysis.

Recently, a clinical trial involving more than 300 babies over 48 hours old was completed at the Ramón González Coro Gynecological and Obstetric Hospital in Havana, in order to evaluate the performance of the system with excellent results, Velarde said.

The expert noted that work is being done to add a cardiovascular screening module to the system.

The system is being used in medical institutions in the Cuban provinces of Villa Clara, Holguín, Matanzas, Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana.

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