From Volume 6, Issue 2, April 2013 | Pages 47-50
This paper describes applications of electropalatography (EPG) and the stages of laboratory construction. EPG is thought to be useful for improving speech of cleft lip and palate patients because it gives a direct visual feedback of tongue-to-palate contact allowing patients to alter tongue position, ideally leading to an improvement of their speech.
The benefits of EPG have been well documented in the past.1,2,3 Speech is produced by complex co-ordination of multiple muscular systems and multiple components in the head and neck region. The nose, lips, tongue, larynx and pharynx all contribute to good speech articulation. Speech disorders are usually multifactorial and the causes are usually divided into developmental or acquired, neurological and physical. In cleft lip and palate (CLP) patients physical and developmental factors are the main causes and velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is a common presenting feature.4
Articulation and quality of speech are usually assessed separately by speech and language therapists (SLTs), however, intra-oral assessment of the tongue-to-palate contact during active speech can be difficult, hence the use of EPG.
Dysarthria is not specific to CLP but can also be a presenting feature in Down's syndrome, patients with hearing impairments and cerebral palsy. In all these instances, EPG can be applied with positive outcomes. Equally, in adults it can be used for patients who experience traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or suffer from Parkinson's disease.
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