Abstract

The feasibility of using a motion sensor to replace a conventional electrolarynx(EL) user interface was explored. Forearm motion signals from MEMS accelerometer was used to provide on/off and pitch frequency control. The vibration device was placed against the throat using support bandage. Very small battery operated ARM-based control unit was developed and placed on the wrist. The control unit can convert the tilt angle into the pitch frequency. Speech generation was tested with various forearm movements, and then a simple and small action was chosen to control the device. To accomplish stable and practical speech generation, device enable/disable function and pitch range adjustment functions were also added. A simple comparison study has been made with three well-trained normal speakers. Results of the study showed that the prototype system was able to produce the pitch patterns similar to those in natural utterances.

Highlights

  • People who have had laryngectomies have several options for the restoration of speech, but no currently available device is satisfactory

  • Esophageal speech does not require any special equipment, but requires speakers to insufflate, or inject air into the esophagus, and limits the pitch range and intensity. Both esophageal speech and tracheo-esophageal speech are characterized by low average pitch frequency, large cycle-to-cycle perturbations in pitch frequencies, and low average intensity

  • As for utilizing esophageal speech, it was found that age was the important factor

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Summary

Introduction

People who have had laryngectomies have several options for the restoration of speech, but no currently available device is satisfactory. The artificial larynx, typically a hand-held device which introduces a source vibration into the vocal tract by vibrating the external walls, is the easiest for patients to master, but does not produce airflow, so the intelligibility of consonants is diminished and the speech is uttered at a monotone frequency. Esophageal speech does not require any special equipment, but requires speakers to insufflate, or inject air into the esophagus, and limits the pitch range and intensity. Both esophageal speech and tracheo-esophageal speech are characterized by low average pitch frequency, large cycle-to-cycle perturbations in pitch frequencies, and low average intensity. The electrolarynx is an important device even for the people who use esophageal speech

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Conclusion

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