Alaryngeal speech aid using an intra-oral electrolarynx and a miniature fingertip switch

We developed and evaluated an intra-oral electrolaryngeal speech aid system for those who could not acquire common alaryngeal speech or for early post-surgery speech rehabilitation. Our system consisted of a denture-base intra-oral vibrator, a wireless miniature fingertip switch and a controller. To produce natural speech, the fingertip switch produced binary commands of voicing and accent and the controller implemented the pitch generation model using the commands. We first estimated the intelligibility of consonant-vowel syllables produced by our system. We then obtained the feedback about the system from the Japanese users on the basis of their daily life use, and evaluated the possibility and acceptability as an alaryngeal speech aid. Although the users were less satisfied at the intra-oral electrolarynx, the intelligibility of the intra-oral electrolarygeal speech was comparable to that of transcervical electrolaryngeal speech, and most of them were willing to employ it if they lost their current electrolaryngeal speech. According to the feedbacks from the users, a completely wire-free system and less eye-catching designs would make the prosthesis more acceptable. These results placed the intra-oral electrolarynx as a useful option of alaryngeal speech aids and encouraged the further development of the intra-oral electrolarynx.