David Green

This evening, the Ashoka-Lemelson fellows had a dinner at ISB's lovely mirror pool. It was a stylish way to kick off the Tech4Society event, and it was also a great opportunity to hear fellows' stories and ideas.

David Green has been working for years to make health-care products that are high in quality and low in manufacturing overhead, thus making them accessible to people and communities without access to traditional care. Here, he tells us about his latest project, a hearing device that can be programmed using a mobile phone:

As someone who suffers from hearing loss, I'm touched by David's ideas. Even in nations with ample access to health care, hearing is a frequently misunderstood issue. The technology that David describes here is amazing, but just as amazing is the simplified approach to distribution. All around the world, these devices could bring much-needed help to the ears that need it most.

In this week's episode of the AshokaTECH Podcast, host Alex Budak interviews Ashoka Fellow David Green.  Green's work focuses on health care delivery to the developing world, enabling developing countries to produce, distribute, and service high-quality, affordable health care products. Having already directed the successful production and distribution of two products–intraocular lenses and surgical sutures, David is now launching an effort to manufacture and distribute top-of-the-line, cost effective, cosmetically acceptable, and locally maintainable hearing aids.  Alex asks him about his ongoing project, as well as what Green has termed "compassionate capitalism."

Be sure to follow Alex on Twitter, @TheBudak, for updates on the podcast and your chance to have your own questions answered in future interviews.

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