Improved electrotactile speech processor: Tickle talker

Abstract

The Tickle Talker, an eight-channel electrotactile speech processor, has been developed from continuing research at the University of Melbourne. The development of the device has focused on production of reliable speech- processing hardware, design of cosmetically and ergonometrically acceptable electrode transducers, implementation of acute and chronic biomedical studies demonstrating device safety, design and testing of alternative speech- encoding strategies to provide benefit to speech perception and production, and design and testing of appropriate training methods for optimizing benefits. The Tickle Talker has been shown to provide benefits in supplementing lipreading or aided residual..