BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — It’s something that’s easy to take for granted: speaking. For some survivors of throat cancer, using their voice just isn’t possible anymore. But now a new device is helping some patients reclaim their speech.
Ben Watson has spent 40 years in entertainment in both TV and music.
But soon after filming a behind-the-scenes video in 2015 for the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, Ben got laryngitis, and it kept coming back. It was cancer. To save him, surgeons removed his voice box, rendering him unable to speak on his own. Throat cancer
“It’s overwhelming in a lot of cases. Voice is a lot about our identity,” explained Ana Minisci, MS, CCC-SLP, Senior Speech-Language Pathologist at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.
But through the devastation, hope. Ben is now one of the first in the US to use the AVA Voice to help him speak clearly again. The device attaches to the patient’s throat to capture their breath.
“That air then creates vibration within the device and the patient uses the straw into the mouth to deliver the vibration within the vocal track that way,” Minisci explained.
No surgery required; it can create a voice that’s easier to understand compared to other external speech devices available.
“The AVA Voice is a lot more natural,” explained Ben.
Clinicians say AVA Voice creates more options for people who haven’t had a voice prosthesis implanted.
“And that’s really our goal. It’s just finding a voice that meets that person’ needs — whatever that is,” said Minisci.
For Ben, it’s helped him return to his passion: entertaining.
“I feel really good now about where I’m heading,” he said.
Laronix, the developers of AVA Voice, are in talks with 32 hospitals across the country to offer this device to more patients … including several medical centers in California, Florida, New York and New Jersey.
Contributors to this news report include: Shernay Williams, Producer; Daylan Jones, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Ana Minisci, MS, CCC-SLP
Senior Speech-Language Pathologist at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
