New research: Can speech be used to monitor MND?
Dec 2023: Our researchers have reviewed the evidence for the use of speech assessment to evaluate disease progression in MND.
Some people with MND may experience difficulties in verbal communication or speaking. Changes in speech could be used to obtain information on how a disease is progressing, but the ways we currently have to measure these changes are limited and time-consuming.
Speech evaluation using digital measures may provide more accurate and detailed information and help us to identify links between speech and MND changes. This may in turn help us to improve our understanding of the disease, improve our ability to diagnose, monitor and plan care for people living with MND.
Systematic review
Euan MacDonald Centre researchers have undertaken a systematic review of the current scientific literature, to explore the current knowledge on the previous use of digital technology to assess speech changes to diagnose and monitor MND. The study was led by University of Edinburgh Medical School student Molly Bowden and Professor Suvankar Pal with colleagues from the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, University of Edinburgh, and digital communication services company SpeakUnique.
The researchers reviewed 40 studies involving 3,670 participants, including 1,878 with MND. A wide range of digital devices was used to record speech, such as microphones, mobile phones, and computer systems. Smartphones and specialised apps are becoming increasingly popular tools.
Speech features associated with MND
Overall, the findings suggest that certain changes in speech features (identified using digital technologies) are found in people with MND but not in healthy individuals. These features could help detect speech problems early on in people with MND, sometimes even before these changes were found by clinicians. Using technology to collect speech data is particularly helpful as it means we can assess people without them needing to come to a clinic.
The findings from this review also showed that many different separate speech features were found to be linked with MND progression. More research is needed into how these features should be used in speech assessment, and the experiences of people with MND of using such digital assessment.
Informing digital health research
This study summarises existing knowledge about digital speech features in MND and will help inform plans for future digital health research projects in MND and other neurodegenerative conditions. It also highlights the significant potential that digital speech technology may have for people living with the condition in the near future.
Related links
Read the scientific article on the NPJ Digital Medicine website: Bowden, M., Beswick, E., Tam, J. et al. A systematic review and narrative analysis of digital speech biomarkers in Motor Neuron Disease. npj Digit. Med. 6, 228 (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41746-023-00959-9
Professor Suvankar Pal's profile
SpeakUnique [external website]