Galvanic skin response of oral cancer patients during speech

Severe speech difficulty is often caused after surgery of an oral cancer. Prosthetic treatment with a removable obturator prosthesis is generally provided for such patients. Although some speech ability is recovered with prosthetic treatment, patients sometimes complain of continued dissatisfaction with their speech. However, it is difficult to evaluate the dissatisfaction. Therefore, a new method for evaluation is desirable. In this study, such a new method using the galvanic skin response as the index for the dissatisfaction of the patient was developed, and its objectivity was investigated. Eleven patients with maxillary bone defects were selected. Prior to the evaluation, improvement of speech with the removable prosthesis was confirmed using the speech intelligibility test and the visual analogue scale. The electrical resistant value at pronunciation was measured with the measuring system composed with the apparatus (galvanic skin response (GSR) measuring apparatus), the personal computer program. The changes for the electrical resistant value after pronunciation were evaluated by calculating the decrease ratio at pronunciation [(the mean electrical resistance before pronunciation - the mean electrical resistance after pronunciation)/the mean electrical resistance before pronunciation]. This decrease ratio at pronunciation was defined as the index of the speech dissatisfaction of the subject. The mean values for the decrease ratio with prosthesis were significantly smaller than the values without prosthesis (P < 0.05). From the results of this study, it is suggested that the measurement of the electrical resistance change of the skin during speech could be a new method for evaluating the speech dissatisfaction of the post-oral-cancer patient.