title: Synchronous electrical stimulation of laryngeal muscles: an alternative for enhancing recovery of unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although electrical stimulation of the larynx has been widely studied for treating voice disorders, its effectiveness has not been assessed under safety and comfortable conditions. This article describes design, theoretical issues, and preliminary evaluation of an innovative system for transdermal electrical stimulation of the larynx. The proposed design includes synchronization of electrical stimuli with laryngeal neuromuscular activity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study whether synchronous electrical stimulation of the larynx could be helpful for improving voice quality in patients with dysphonia due to unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis (URLNP).
  
  
  METHODS
  A 3-year prospective study was carried out at the Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion in the Mexico City. Ten patients were subjected to transdermal current electrical stimulation synchronized with the fundamental frequency of the vibration of the vocal folds during phonation. The stimulation was triggered during the phase of maximum glottal occlusion. A complete acoustic voice analysis was performed before and after the period of electrical stimulation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acoustic analysis revealed significant improvements in all parameters after the stimulation period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Transdermal synchronous electrical stimulation of vocal folds seems to be a safe and reliable procedure for enhancing voice quality in patients with (URLNP).
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico; Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Poza Rica, Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcia Perez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Foniatría del Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Xochiquetzal
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hernández López
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Foniatría del Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Víctor Manuel
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Valadez Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minor Martínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Ian Jackson Craniofacial Clinic, Beaumont Health System, Royal Oak, Michigan. Electronic address: antonio.ysunza@beaumont.edu.
authors.forename: Pablo Antonio
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ysunza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055154:Dysphonia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007821:Laryngeal Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012009:Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000502:physiology; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Electrical Stimulation; Larynx; Paralysis; Therapy; Voice