New Robotic Necklace Gives Stroke Patients Their Voice Back

Professor Luigi Occhipinti from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who led the research, said: “When people have dysarthria following a stroke, it can be extremely frustrating for them because they know exactly what they want to say, but physically struggle to say it because the signals between their brain and their throat have been scrambled by the stroke. “That frustration can be profound, not just for the patients but for their caregivers and families as well.” Occhipinti added that the device helped patients to communicate more effectively by capturing signals associated with words and translating them through a synthesizer. He added: “This is a wearable device which is designed to be comfortable. It can be used outside a hospital setting, too, so that when patients are back home they can gradually recover and restore their language function. “This is about giving people their independence back. Communication is fundamental to dignity and recovery.” Users control the device by nodding twice to tell it that they want it to expand their words into sentences. • Chronic shortage of stroke experts is leading to avoidable deaths Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: “There are around 1.3 million stroke survivors living in the UK, and many experience communication difficulties such as dysarthria, which affects the muscles used for speech. “This can have a major impact on confidence, relationships and independence after strokes. Technologies like Revoice are at a very early stage and have so far been tested with only a small number of people, so the findings should be seen as preliminary. More research will be needed to understand how effective this approach is and who it might benefit. • Stroke patient’s thoughts converted into speech almost instantly “Specialist stroke rehabilitation will always be essential, but as the number of stroke survivors grows, carefully tested innovations may help to complement existing support and enable more people to regain their independence.” The research was supported in part by the British Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).