Engineering Students Design Mechanical Larynx

A team of mechanical and aeronautical engineering students from Clarkson University have designed a mechanical larynx, launching the team to the finals of the 2014 ASME Undergrad Design Project Competition in the topic of Rehabilitation and Assistive Devices.

The mechanolarynx, as the team calls it, is mechanically powered. This oscillatory mechanical energy is used to excite the vocal cords (laryngopharynx) so that the patient can speak. This in turn allows patients to practice and rehabilitate their abilities.

As the device uses mechanical energy and is low in price, it will be best suited for users who have little or no access to batteries or electricity – making it a great fit in more rural locations. The cheap production cost is also beneficial as it will make the most of the $3000 ASME Bioengineering grant won by the team to support prototyping and travel.

The team’s professor, Kevin Fite, agrees: "This particular device was sort of a low-cost solution relative to existing technology … This is something more suited for developing countries, where perhaps you don't have access to commonplace electronic devices you have here in the States.”

Fite was confident in his team’s success too, saying "It's not surprising they made it to the finals, mostly given the work that they put into it."

To get to this point the team had to produce a paper on their device that outlined the market potential and patient need of the product. During this process they found that their mechanolarynx could really improve some patients’ quality of life.

So they continued to prototype the product and draw up plans for commercialization. Fite noted that this has helped to teach the students about the design cycle.

Finally, at the 2014 World Congress of Biomechanics, the team presented their results and device. Of the 36 teams to present at the conference only 5 were selected as finalists. This is certainly great practice for the leaders of tomorrow.

Gordon Reitema, a speech pathologist and director of Utica-based Laryngetomy Support group assisted the Clarkson team in their designs. The team was also assisted by Fite and fellow professors Byron Erath and Laurel Kuxhaus. The team itself is comprised of 5 students from the class of 2014: Alexander Landauer, Andrea Westervelt, Kevin Creager, Maegan Lipinski and Peter Goss.