呼気流による抑揚制御機能を備えたウェアラブル人工喉頭の試作(高齢者の認知機能保障技術及び一般)

概要

論文の詳細を見る
An electro-larynx is one of the valuable speech aid devices for laryngectomees who have lost their larynx. Unfortunately, the voices produced by using conventional electro-larynxes are completely flat, unlike the human voice. In addition to that, conventional electro-larynxes cause a lot of inconvenience in daily use because the conventional ones force laryngectomees to hold and control the device while using it. In order to solve the above problems, we designed a pitch-controlled electro-larynx that can allow laryngectomees to control voice intonation using their exhalation, and manufactured it in 1998. Furthermore, we newly designed a wearable electro-larynx that can allow laryngectomees to control the device without their hands occupied. However, as the wearable electro-larynx has not yet been equipped with the pitch-control function, patients have to use a small fingertip switch to control the device. In this paper, we studied a pitch control technique using expiratory flow, and applied it to the wearable electro-larynx so that patients can produce more natural voice without their hands.
社団法人電子情報通信学会の論文
2008-11-26