The effect of a Heat and Moisture Exchanger (Provox® HME) on pulmonary protection after total laryngectomy: a randomized controlled study

The goal of this randomized controlled study was to investigate the effect of Heat and Moisture Exchanger use on pulmonary symptoms and quality of life aspects in laryngectomized patients. Eighty laryngectomized patients were included and randomized into an HME and Control group. The effect of the HME was evaluated by means of Tally Sheets and Structured Questionnaires. The results showed a significant decrease in the frequency of coughing, forced expectoration, and stoma cleaning in the HME group. There were trends for the prosthetic speakers to report more fluent speech with the HME and for the HME group to report fewer sleeping problems. In conclusion, this study, performed in Poland, confirms the results of previous studies performed in other countries, showing that pulmonary symptoms decrease significantly with HME use and that related aspects such as speech and sleeping tend to improve, regardless of country or climate

Olfaction following total laryngectomy

Total laryngectomy (TL) results in the complete disconnection of the upper and lower respiratory tract, ceasing orthonasal airflow. Hence, olfaction and olfactory acuity are negatively impacted. Prior to the late 1990s, impaired olfaction was simply accepted as a negative consequence of TL surgery. However, a growing body of research conducted within this past decade has demonstrated that rehabilitation is possible with a simple and effective behavioral technique. The current review outlines the literature supporting the negative impact of altered olfaction on quality of life, details of known best practice methods for olfactory assessment both for research and clinical use, and outlines the evidence for interventions known to improve olfactory performance in the TL population. Intervention for olfactory impairment should be part of a holistic, evidence-based rehabilitation process for patients post-laryngectomy

Automatic tracheoesophageal voice typing using acoustic parameters

The acoustics of isolated vowels, e.g. of /a/, have in many studies been linked to pathological voice types, such as tracheoesophageal (TE) voice. To study the possibilities of objective and automatic classification of pathological TE voice types, the acoustic features of /a / were quantified and subsequently classified using a suit of machine learning technologies. Best classification was achieved by using a voiced-voiceless measurement and the harmonics-to-noise ratio. Other common acoustic features were correlated to pathological type as well, but were less distinctive in classification. We conclude that for objective and automatic classification of TE voice pathology, voicing distinction and harmonics-to-noise ratio are most relevant. Index Terms: Tracheoesophageal speech, pathological speech, machine learnin