[OT] -- Voice for Stroke Victims

Tim,

How about something as simple as a light backed panel with "NO", "YES", and "FSK OFF" that are selected by separate buttons?

It would be easy to have the button activated box as a hand held. Or you can put several items up in a panel on a wall with a remote IR (or other tech) to activate them.

Perhaps with a buzzer or tone that goes off at the same time to direct their attention to the panel.

Robert

We are not only a smart bunch, but a capable one. Assuming you find nothing, let's make something. The first pass doesn't need to be remotely operated. A small box, a few AAA cells, three pushbuttons with LED readout and a plug for an optional panel above and behind her. Later, the panel becomes a vocoder chip with a few well chosen words and phrases. When that works, *then* think about an IR interface. I'd likely demean you by offering design help, but I'm game if you need it.

Jerry

How about those Scrolling LED Badges.

The ones I have purchased in the past had PIC processors in them.

Reprogramming one with an IR detector so that it can display a) pre-programmed messages, b) chars from a IR keyboard.

donald

Until that box is made available, try this on your XP notebook: Start > Control Panel > Speech > Text to Speech tab >

Type something into the Preview Speech box and click 'Preview Voice'

It is cool.

--Winston

To get more than one on-demand audio response

is a lot more expensive than a general-purpose item

but perhaps *more than 1* of the cheapies...

And:

--Winston

Yes, Tim there is a fair range of such devices for suitable for people who suffer from aphasia. Costs are a bit silly high, but usually it's covered by some kind of insurance or another. Suggest you ask the PT for recommendations.

Here's what looks like an exhaustive list if you want to investigate further yourself:

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Frank-Christian Krügel

One would think there would be quite a market for such a device, perhaps with ten different buttons, for areas other than disability support. For a start, when in a foreign land then you could get a lot done with 10 basic phrases.

On a sunny day (Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:31:37 -0800) it happened Tim Wescott wrote in :

Tim, connecting a keyboard to a voice synthesizer, I have done that, it will need a PC, but wireless keyboard perhaps? Here is the free voice synthesizer I use:

Audrey is nice too.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

My autistic grandson has a box with picture "buttons"... touch screen that "pages", so there's lots of word capability... touch a "button" and it talks.

I'll inquire as to manufacturer.

...Jim Thompson

Hello Tim,

Sorry about your Aunt.

My wife is a speech therapist and she specialises in stroke victims (to an extent). The reasons why people lose speech are complex and you really need to get a professional involved to help select the best of many devices available. Because of the cash strapped operation of the NHS I often get asked for unofficial help in fixing broken aids.

Your local NHS should be able to help but they may well not have any money to actually buy aids - which is where you can do your bit.

One of the more popular complex aids (the speech box used by Hawkings) is made by Toby Churchill Ltd in Cambridge. Toby Churchill is himslef disabled which is how he got involved.

Michael Kellett

Not exactly what you are asking for, but I believe it will do - Digital Voice Recorders, like these:

I have an older model, it could be programmed with up to 99 different "files" in three folders. With some thinking could be configured in such a way that it will not require more than 2 or 3 keys presses to access about a dozen simple messages. (One key to select a folder, 1 to 3 to skip forward/backward to selected message)

Hope this helps,

Roberto Waltman

Thank you Sphero -- this is just what I was looking for.

Ultimately we'll want to go to the PT for help, but she's covered under Kaiser -- sometimes those folks need to be prodded to do the right thing.

Jerry, you wouldn't demean me at all by offering design help. I'm good, but I have every reason to believe that there are things that you do better than me. At any rate I think Sphero's list should have something suitable on it, so hopefully the only 'designing' will be in finding where to buy the right one.

Go take a vacation to Britain. While there, swipe Steven Hawking's speech computer...

...Or just buy a suitable unit. No idea what the cost is, though!

Tim

-- Deep Fryer: a very philosophical monk. Website:

Tim Williams wrote: (top posting fixed)

She wouldn't have been able to handle _that_ back her brain was undamaged. A two-button solution would be more her speed for a start.

The recordings should preferably have the voice of Darth Vader or perhaps Emperor Palpatine. There is always the option of using the voice of HM Elizabeth II, of course - that should get people's attention ;)

That said, I'm dealing with voice storage/playback/manipulation in current products so I'm game to help if you want it.

Cheers

PeteS