Fluentbuddy Device to Enhance the Sensory and Motor Function of Individuals with Speech Communication Disorders

This project develops FluentBuddy, a rehabilitation framework that utilizes innovative speech processing algorithms, as a platform to enable new cloud computing-based service delivery solutions for autonomous assessment, treatment, and management of communication disorders outside of a clinic. This project focuses on disorders associated with problems of the physiological and anatomical system (namely, voice disorders, speech sound disorders, motor speech disorders, and the associated disabilities in children and adults). The four goals of this project are: (1) to enhance sensory and motor function to support improved functional capacity; (2) to enhance workforce participation; (3) to increase independence of individuals; and (4) to improve healthcare interventions. The goals are met through the development of the end-to-end Take Along Clinical Therapy (TACT) cloud computing platform integrated with FluentBuddy applications. TACT combines biologically plausible speech processing algorithms for automated assessment with speech-therapy procedures to develop a new platform for the delivery of clinical therapy that is used outside of the clinic, can be used in real world situations, and enables tele-therapy for speech pathologists and for individuals while providing an extraordinary therapy experience for each.