PURPOSE: The electrolarynx (EL) is a widely used device for alaryngeal speech, but it requires manual operation and produces voice that typically has a constant fundamental frequency. An electromyographically controlled EL (EMG-EL) was designed and implemented to provide hands-free control with dynamic pitch modulation. METHOD: Three participants who underwent total laryngectomy surgery and 4 participants with normal voice were trained to produce EMG-EL speech through a multiple-baseline, successive-stage protocol. Baseline performance was established through 3 testing probes, followed by multiple hour-long training sessions. RESULTS: At the end of the training, all participants learned to initiate, sustain, and terminate EMG-EL activation in correspondence with articulation, and most were able to modulate the pitch to produce intonational contrasts. After completing the testing/training protocol, 1 of the 3 participants who underwent total laryngectomy was encouraged to independently use the EMG-EL at his residence. This participant sustained his performance for an additional 6 weeks and also used the EMG-EL successfully to communicate over the phone. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that some participants with laryngectomies and vocally normal individuals can learn to produce hands-free speech using the EMG-EL device within a few hours and that significant additional gains in device control (particularly pitch modulation) are attainable through subsequent training sessions.
PURPOSE: The electrolarynx (EL) is a widely used device for alaryngeal speech, but it requires manual operation and produces voice that typically has a constant fundamental frequency. An electromyographically controlled EL (EMG-EL) was designed and implemented to provide hands-free control with dynamic pitch modulation. METHOD: Three participants who underwent total laryngectomy surgery and 4 participants with normal voice were trained to produce EMG-EL speech through a multiple-baseline, successive-stage protocol. Baseline performance was established through 3 testing probes, followed by multiple hour-long training sessions. RESULTS: At the end of the training, all participants learned to initiate, sustain, and terminate EMG-EL activation in correspondence with articulation, and most were able to modulate the pitch to produce intonational contrasts. After completing the testing/training protocol, 1 of the 3 participants who underwent total laryngectomy was encouraged to independently use the EMG-EL at his residence. This participant sustained his performance for an additional 6 weeks and also used the EMG-EL successfully to communicate over the phone. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that some participants with laryngectomies and vocally normal individuals can learn to produce hands-free speech using the EMG-EL device within a few hours and that significant additional gains in device control (particularly pitch modulation) are attainable through subsequent training sessions.
Authors: Heather L Kubert; Cara E Stepp; Steven M Zeitels; John E Gooey; Michael J Walsh; S R Prakash; Robert E Hillman; James T Heaton Journal: J Commun Disord Date: 2009-01-19 Impact factor: 2.288
Authors: Cara E Stepp; James T Heaton; Rebecca G Rolland; Robert E Hillman Journal: IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng Date: 2009-03-16 Impact factor: 3.802
Authors: Jennifer M Vojtech; Michael D Chan; Bhawna Shiwani; Serge H Roy; James T Heaton; Geoffrey S Meltzner; Paola Contessa; Gianluca De Luca; Rupal Patel; Joshua C Kline Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res Date: 2021-05-12 Impact factor: 2.297