Improvements to Android-based real-time treatment of speech-language pathologies

This paper presents improvements upon a previous paper detailing an Android mobile phone application demonstrating methods for implementing or assisting traditional speech therapy techniques using mobile devices. [1] After development, the software was implemented on a Galaxy Tab, an Android tablet that, at approximately $100 per tablet, is quite affordable. The techniques are principally aimed at treating Parkinsons-disease induced hypophonia and habit-induced hyperphonia, but are applicable to other speech or language disorders, particularly vocal projection issues. This paper will present practical obstacles in developing the application and their solutions, feedback from medical testing, and practical improvements to the device setup itself. In particular, it focuses on improvements to the device's user interface, physical noise reduction in mobile devices, and the implementation and altered-audio-feedback on an Android device. It was found that using a single type of device with pre-set parameters for certain tasks was more effective than allowing medical technicians, who may be unfamiliar with the technology, to calibrate the software to different types of devices. Additionally, the use of throat microphones will be tested to reduce noise and enable more effective treatment.