Bell Develops

Bell Develops

Electronic Larynx

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia announced today that an improved electronic artificial larynx is now available. The Bell System first introduced the electronic artificial larynx in 1960. Since that time 9,000 instruments have been sold on a nonprofit basis by BqLl System Companies hereby making communications possible for individuals who have lost the ability to speak as a result of surgical removal or paralysis of the vocal cords. The improvement in the original device makes this electronic larynx more effective and may also extend its use to those who could not, for one reason or another, use the previous device. The electronic larynx, which looks like a streamlined eleotrie razor, has been especially helpful to those unable to master esophageal speech— which is recommended by many doctors, but which requires considerable training and practice. Held against the side of the throat, the electronic larynx transmits sound waves that are passed up the throat and formed into words by movements of the lips and tongue as in normal conversa-? tion. In its new improved form, the Bell System’s electronic larynx has a smaller head, actually only an inch in width. The smaller head fits more snugly against the throat, permitting sound waves to pass more readily into the throat cavity. As with the earlier model, the new electronic larynx is produced in two models, one high-pitched to simulate the female voice and the other with a lower pitch for men. Both are provided with a finger control which enables the user to vary the pitch of his voice over a half-octave range in order to produce more natural inflections of speech and emphasis on words or phrases. Developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories, it is manufactured by Western Electric and made available on a nonprofit basis by the Bell Telephone Companies. Foreign distribution is handled through the World Health Organization of the United Nations. '