SALT LAKE CITY, Ut. – Olivia Washburn, a 14-year-old girl from Utah, has invented a new cap for premature babies to protect their hearing.
The cap is designed to reduce harmful sounds. It can also be adjusted for a tight fit over the baby's head. It currently has two patents pending.
If testing goes well, she hopes to get it into the marketplace in about a year and a half.
Her invention has won her several prestigious awards, including the $7,000 grand prize in the Utah entrepreneur challenge.
She was motivated to help premature babies since she was one herself. Washburn was born six weeks early.