Utility of a Novel Mobile Lip‐Reading Application for Patients After Total Laryngectomy

TL;DR

A new mobile app helps patients who have had their voice box removed communicate better in the hospital by using lip-reading technology.

Contribution

A novel mobile lip-reading app, SRAVI, is introduced and tested for post-total laryngectomy communication.

Findings

SRAVI achieved 43% first-attempt accuracy and 67% total accuracy in phrase recognition.

Patients used SRAVI mainly to communicate with care teams and family members.

69.7% of patients preferred SRAVI over written communication during hospitalization.

Abstract

Total laryngectomy (TL) patients have limited options for speech rehabilitation in the immediate postoperative period, resulting in communication difficulties and patient frustration. This study investigates a novel mobile application (app), Speech Recognition Application for the Voice Impaired (SRAVI), to improve postoperative communication for TL patients. Participants received a tutorial on the technology prior to use and had access to the app throughout their hospital admission. A total of 16 patients were included. Of 652 valid transactions within the app, accurate phrase return on the first attempt was 43% with a total accuracy of 67%. Patients used SRAVI primarily to communicate with their care team (66.7%) and with family members/social support (80%). Patients reported using SRAVI, on average, 43.6% of the time to communicate during their hospitalization the majority (69.7%) preferred SRAVI to written communication. In TL patients, use of speech recognition technology is feasible in the immediate postoperative period.

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