Parkinson’s patients use telehealth access for speech improvement during pandemic

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – SpeechVive Inc. announced Thursday (Nov. 19) it is making its remote calibration software and training available free during the COVID-19 global health crisis. The software and training are available to all speech-language pathologists and their patients, as well as VA medical centers and veterans with Parkinson’s disease.

The remote calibration software platform was developed and studied with funding from a National Institutes of Health small business innovation and research grant.

Jessica Huber, a professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and associate dean for research in Purdue University’s College of Health and Human Sciences, decided to investigate the use of remote technology to calibrate the SpeechVive, an ear-worn device that provides immediate speech volume and clarity improvement for people with Parkinson’s disease. Huber wanted to find a way to serve patients in rural and remote areas.

“We would get calls from people in rural communities who had to travel over two hours each way to find a qualified clinician,” Huber said. “I wanted to make communication more accessible.”

Ashleigh Lambert, vice president of clinical development and co-PI for the telehealth trial, said, “In no way was a pandemic a reason we ever considered for use of our telehealth platform.”

Huber’s Purdue Motor Speech Lab studied the use of calibrating the SpeechVive remotely as compared to programming the device in-person.

The research showed that remote calibration is just as effective as in-person device programming sessions.

SpeechVive now partners with speech-language pathologists and neurologists to provide training and remote device programming for people with Parkinson’s disease.

“We’ve found that many people with Parkinson’s disease have delayed intervention for their speech during COVID-19 because the clinics are closed or have limited capacity to see patients as a social-distancing precaution,” Lambert said. “We’re providing our software platform free-of-charge to clinicians and customers to access SpeechVive from their homes. We believe communication is more important now than ever for people with Parkinson’s and we are part of the solution.”

SpeechVive is an Indiana startup company based on Huber’s research. The company has developed a wearable medical device to improve the speech clarity of people with Parkinson’s.

“The SpeechVive device, which fits behind the patient’s ear, detects when a patient is speaking and elicits louder and clearer speech through an involuntary reflex known as the Lombard Effect,” said Huber, inventor and co-founder. “Approximately 89% of people with Parkinson’s disease will have speech issues. Access to SpeechVive for those patients will make a significant improvement in their quality of life.”

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SpeechVive is a behind the ear smart device which helps people with Parkinson’s disease speak more loudly and communicate more effectively. The SpeechVive device is based on the research of inventor and co-founder Jessica Huber at Purdue University. Clinical data over four years demonstrated SpeechVive to be effective in improving volume, articulation and speech rate in 90% of the people participating in two multi-site clinical trials. It is estimated that 1.5 million people in the U.S. and 10 million people worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease. To learn more about SpeechVive, visit http://www.speechvive.com.

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue’s intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park, Purdue Technology Centers and University Development Office. In 2020, the IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The foundation received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization at [email protected]. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at [email protected].

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Chris Adam, [email protected], @ChrisLeeAdam

Sources: Jessica Huber, [email protected]

Steve Mogensen, [email protected]

Ashleigh Lambert, [email protected]