Use of Laryngeal Sensors To Monitor Talk Time in People With Aphasia

Research Objectives To investigate the feasibility of using laryngeal sensors to monitor the amount of time people with aphasia talk in day-to-day life. Design Feasibility study. Setting Data was collected by the participants during an average day at home and in the community. Participants 10 participants with aphasia participated. Participants (mean [SD] age = 57.3 [5.5] years, 9 male) were diagnosed with aphasia following a left hemisphere stroke (Mean [SD] time post-onset = 57.2 [40.44] months). Interventions Participants were provided with all necessary equipment and given a training session by a speech language pathologist. Equipment included a small laryngeal sensor, adhesives, and an iPhone with a custom app to record the sensor data. Participants were trained to apply the sensor and connect to the app. Participants wore the sensor over the laryngeal notch of the throat for 8 hours a day for 1-3 days. Participants completed a structured interview about their experience with the sensors and activity during the data collection period. Main Outcome Measures Seconds of talk time per hour. Results Mean talk time per hour was 54.97 seconds (SD = 76.29 seconds). Sensor data was collected for a total of 22, 8 hour days. Participants were successful in setting up and using equipment in their home environment. Results of the structured interview reflect that the equipment was easy to use. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring talk time in people with aphasia using a laryngeal sensor. The resulting data provides information about real world communication in this population and highlights their limited talk time. We discuss potential factors that may drive variability in talk time including aphasia characteristics (i.e., type, severity), demographic and environmental factors (gender, living arrangement, time spent at home). Author(s) Disclosures The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

研究目标 调查使用喉部传感器监测失语症患者在日常生活中说话时长的可行性。 设计 可行性研究。 环境设定 参与者在家中和社区的平均日常活动中收集数据。 参与者 10名失语症患者参与。参与者（平均[标准差]年龄 = 57.3[5.5]岁，9名男性）在左半球中风后被诊断为失语症（平均[标准差]发病后时间 = 57.2[40.44]个月）。 干预措施 为参与者提供所有必要设备，并由言语语言病理学家进行培训。设备包括一个小型喉部传感器、胶粘剂以及一部装有定制应用程序的iPhone，用于记录传感器数据。参与者接受了粘贴传感器以及连接应用程序的培训。参与者将传感器佩戴在喉部甲状软骨切迹处，每天佩戴8小时，持续1 - 3天。参与者完成了一次结构化访谈，内容涉及他们在数据收集期间使用传感器的体验以及活动情况。 主要结果测量指标 每小时的说话时长（秒）。 结果 每小时平均说话时长为54.97秒（标准差 = 76.29秒）。共收集了22个8小时的数据。参与者能够在家庭环境中成功安装和使用设备。结构化访谈结果表明该设备易于使用。 结论 本研究证明了使用喉部传感器测量失语症患者说话时长的可行性。所得数据提供了有关该人群在现实世界中交流的信息，并凸显了他们有限的说话时长。我们讨论了可能导致说话时长差异的潜在因素，包括失语症特征（即类型、严重程度）、人口统计学和环境因素（性别、居住安排、在家时间）。 作者披露 作者无利益冲突需要披露。