Voice prosthesis

A device that enables speech production for people who have lost their natural voice, typically due to laryngectomy or severe laryngeal damage. Voice prostheses include external devices like electrolarynx (which produces vibrations held against the neck or inserted into the mouth) and internal devices like tracheoesophageal prostheses (valves that redirect air through the esophagus). Each type has tradeoffs in sound quality, naturalness, maintenance requirements, and user skill demands. Research into whisper-to-speech conversion aims to provide a noninvasive alternative that requires no physical device.