Synthetic Larynx Implant: Restoring Speech Ability

KAROLINSKA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN and HARVARD BIOSCIENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, USA. Synthetic larynx that were successfully implanted into live human patients. This is a major breakthrough in producing an entire larynx with the use of stem cells and scaffolding that will replace the natural human larynx that are usually damaged by a disease or an accident.

The human voice box or the larynx is the organ in the throat that is responsible in speech. it helps in directing breath flow and helps in preventing objects or food from entering the trachea. The trachea is the collar shaped piece of windpipe and at the base of the larynx between the parts that helps in producing speech. It also form the outer wall of the lower larynx.

Due to its location, it is usually crushed when people are involved in vehicular accidents. Usually their throats are crushed against the upper part of the steering wheel. There are also certain diseases that damage that larynx resulting to the loss of a person’s ability to speak.

Researchers at the Harvard Bioscience built a scaffolding out of synthetic materials. They incorporated stem cells that were taken from the bone marrow of the patient who received the larynx implant and conduced them to attach in a reactor box. Since the stem cells originated from the patient, there was no issue of rejection.

Typical medical procedures restore human speech through harvesting parts from cadavers. This method usually leads to rejection issues of foregin materials. The successful implant procedures done by the doctors at the Karolinska University is a good indication that an entire synthetic larynx from scratch can be made and can function just like the original. Further improvements will perfect this intricate procedure.