Silent speech interface using a wearable tongue tracker to help people after laryngectomy communicate
Official title: Intraoral wireless tongue tracking-based silent speech interface
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11603090 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A wearable system with tongue sensors and intraoral components aims to let people without a vocal cord use natural-sounding speech in daily life.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $160,879 |
| NIH project number | 1R56DC023963-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11603090 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who have undergone laryngectomy and need alternative communication methods.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without laryngectomy or those unable to use wearable devices may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project develops a wearable silent speech interface (SSI) for people who have had a laryngectomy. It combines MagTrack glasses with a wired tongue sensor and WiTT for intraoral use, connected to a real-time speech synthesizer to produce natural voice. The team will first verify technical performance, then validate the articulation-to-speech methods, and finally test the system with home trials to see how well people can communicate at home. The goal is a daily-use device that preserves voice characteristics and improves intelligibility compared with current options.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could communicate more easily and naturally in everyday life after laryngectomy.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows wearable articulation systems can reach usable speech, with this project advancing toward real-world home use.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Jun — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: Wang, Jun
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.