A New Found Voice

Vocal cord paralysis is a problem that can be brought on from disease or trauma, such as a stroke, that is more than just a hindrance to communication. Commonly, only one of the cords is paralyzed, but if both are, they expose the lung and increase the chance of debris entering past them, and also lead to breathing problems. Current methods of treatment involve electrical stimulation, surgery, and speech therapy. However, Leonessa recently won a grant from a proposal to insert an electrode-studded pad to the side of the throat that would utilize electric signals to the nerves that control vocal cords. The system design so far uses 32 pins that would be pushed just beneath the skin and hooked up to a device clipped onto a belt. Critics say that this is a far stretch though due to some vocal problems originating from brain damage, and the dangers of implanting this device near critical nerves for neck and head movement, as well as breathing and swallowing.



I found this article to be quite an interesting proposal since it's such a huge application of engineering to a medical problem. I'd be interested to see this device being made and capabilities as to how well people would sound and the range of tones and possibilities of people even singing again.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=vocal-cord-paralysis