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INNOVATION FOR INDEPENDENCE
ISSUE 78 April/May 11 £6.95
New device could help to stimulate paralysed cords By Dominic Musgrave AN American engineering researcher is seeking a new way to help those who are unable to speak to find their voice. Virginia Tech’s Alexander Leonessa wants to help bring back the voice of stroke patients and others who have suffered paralysis of the vocal folds, through electrical stimulation. The assistant professor of mechanical engineering is developing a small device no larger than an iPod, clipped to the belt, that could use functional electrical stimulation on the paralysed vocal folds of stroke patients or others who have lost the ability to talk, or even swallow and breathe properly. He said: “The device has the potential of improving the quality of life for patients with vocal paralysis, or neuromuscular disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease. Alexander won a $480,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for his research. The grant is the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award, given to creative junior faculty likely considered to become academic leaders of the future. The concept of electrical stimulation on
muscles is regularly used on legs and arms to prevent muscle atrophy. Doctors use an external electrical appendage placed on the exterior skin to provide a small electrical shock that can cause the muscle to contract. The practice exercises the muscles, and therefore can save the leg or arm. Alexander said that applying the same method to vocal folds can result in reinnervating the muscle, which also affects breathing and swallowing and other functions. She added: “The folds close and open – almost like eye lids – to create or release air pressure that vibrates the vocal chords, and makes sound. “If one of the flaps is unable to close, no pressure, hence no sound, can be created. In many cases, be it from a stroke or injury, one of the folds is affected by paralysis.” During the five-year study he and his graduate student research team will work with doctors at the Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders, part of Wake Forrest University’s Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. There, patients with paralysed vocal folds will undergo electrical stimulation tests to see if small shocks can reinvigorate their ability to talk through forced contraction.
Britain’s number one skier Chemmy Alcott has been using the latest technology to get her back on the slopes. The triple Olympian, who has won five British titles, suffered an open fracture to her right fibula and tibia when she crashed at around 80mph during her final training session before the start of the World Cup season in Canada. Working with DJO Global’s physio Cliff Eaton, she has used the DonJoy CMF (Combined Magnetic Field) bone healer, an Aircast Walker, a Compex mi Sport and a Game Ready to speed up her recovery.