Funding for artificial speech valves
June 2007
Throat cancer patients may soon have better artificial speech valves,
thanks to pioneering new research at the Medway School of Pharmacy a joint venture between the Universities of Greenwich and Kent. Dr Tim Paget, Reader in Medical Microbiology is working with Engineers and Clinicians at the University of Hull to develop a new type of artificial speech valve, funded by an £380,000 grant from the NHS National institute for Health Research – New and Emerging Application of Technology programme.
Existing valves do a great job but last only about three months. Replacing these costs up to £1,000 a time and also their removal is a painful business for the patient. The problem is that a thin layer of bacteria, called a biofilm, builds up on the valves and stop them working properly.
The research team based in Hull are now manufacturing a new type of valve, designed so that these biofilms can't cause problems and we will be studying how these valves will perform in patients – in particular how well they cope with the microbes that form biofilms in existing valves. Studies performed by Dr Zahra Mahmoud from my research group already suggest that the new valves will be very resistant to biofilm formation. He adds:
We have a patent application on this technology and small scale clinical trials on the new valves will start in Hull during 2009. We hope by the end of this project (late 2010) to have a speech valve that will be the standard used by the NHS.
This work was highlighted in THES 22nd of June
