Mirror Speech Entrainment: A Novel Technique for Voice Personalized Speech Entrainment for Nonfluent Aphasia (MSE)

University of South Florida

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Aphasia Non Fluent; Stroke; Aphasia

Treatments: Behavioral: Traditional speech entrainment: auditory-only; Behavioral: Traditional speech entrainment: auditory-visual; Behavioral: Mirror speech entrainment

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06829420

007481

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the use of voice personalization through artificial intelligence (AI) voice cloning on speech entrainment tasks to improve language production of persons with aphasia (PWA). The main question the study aims to answer is:

• What is the impact of personalized voice on speech entrainment in PWA compared to traditional speech entrainment?

Speech entrainment is a technique used by speech-language pathologists to improve the speech production of PWA. Traditionally, speech therapists act as the model for participants to speak along with to improve their speech production. This study proposes the use of one's own voice (digitally altered) to improve speech production.

The study uses a mobile health approach to administer speech entrainment treatment through a mobile app.

• Smartphones with the mobile app pre-installed will be mailed to participants at no cost.
• Participants will complete treatment in the comfort of their homes.
• The experimental treatments involve: mirror speech entrainment (speaking along to one's own voice) and traditional speech entrainment (speaking along to someone else's voice).

Enrollment: 20 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 70 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults between the ages of 18-70 years old
• Dominant English-speaking
• Aphasia due to left hemisphere stroke

Exclusion criteria

• Individuals with aphasia due to other causes such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinsonism
• Non-dominant English adult speakers
• Persons with significant difficulties with language comprehension
• Persons with concomitant cognitive disability
• Persons with uncorrected sensory deficits.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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20 participants in 3 patient groups

Experiment 1: Feasibility Study

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive two treatments sequentially: mirror speech entrainment using the auditory-only modality followed by mirror speech entrainment using the auditory-visual modality.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mirror speech entrainment

Experiment 2: Mirror SE versus Traditional SE (Auditory-only)

Experimental group

Description:

This arm investigates the use of mirror speech entrainment using auditory only feedback and traditional speech entrainment using auditory only feedback.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mirror speech entrainment

Behavioral: Traditional speech entrainment: auditory-only

Experiment 3: Mirror SE versus Traditional SE (Auditory-visual)

Experimental group

Description:

This arm will investigate the effect of mirror speech entrainment in the auditory-visual modality versus traditional speech entrainment in the auditory-visual modality.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mirror speech entrainment

Behavioral: Traditional speech entrainment: auditory-visual