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A user evaluation of speech/phrase recognition software in critically ill patients: a DECIDE-AI feasibility study
M Musalia1, S Laha2,3, J Cazalilla-Chica1
1Critical Care Unit, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, UK.
Objectives:
Evaluating effectiveness of speech/phrase recognition software in critically ill patients with speech impairments.
Design:
Prospective study.
Setting:
Tertiary hospital critical care unit in the northwest of England.
Participants:
14 patients with tracheostomies, 3 female and 11 male.
Main Outcome Measures:
Evaluation of dynamic time warping (DTW) and deep neural networks (DNN) methods in a speech/phrase recognition application. Using speech/phrase recognition app for voice impaired (SRAVI), patients attempted mouthing various supported phrases with recordings evaluated by both DNN and DTW processing methods. Then, a trio of potential recognition phrases was displayed on the screen, ranked from first to third in order of likelihood.
Results:
A total of 616 patient recordings were taken with 516 phrase identifiable recordings. The overall results revealed a total recognition accuracy across all three ranks of 86% using the DNN method. The rank 1 recognition accuracy of the DNN method was 75%. The DTW method had a total recognition accuracy of 74%, with a rank 1 accuracy of 48%.
Conclusion:
This feasibility evaluation of a novel speech/phrase recognition app using SRAVI demonstrated a good correlation between spoken phrases and app recognition. This suggests that speech/phrase recognition technology could be a therapeutic option to bridge the gap in communication in critically ill patients.
What Is Already Known About This Topic:
Communication can be attempted using visual charts, eye gaze boards, alphabet boards, speech/phrase reading, gestures and speaking valves in critically ill patients with speech impairments.
What This Study Adds:
Deep neural networks and dynamic time warping methods can be used to analyse lip movements and identify intended phrases.
How This Study Might Affect Research, Practice And Policy:
Our study shows that speech/phrase recognition software has a role to play in bridging the communication gap in speech impairment.
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