3D Ultrasound Shows Speech Effects After Tongue Surgery

Surgeons at the University of Toronto (Canada) are the first investigators to use three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound to evaluate both normal and partially resected tongues during speech. By assessing the 3D topography of the tongue's surface as each of 10 normal speakers made a host of sounds, the researchers were able to describe the basic processes underlying the normal workings of a tongue. This ultrasound data became the baseline to which partially resected tongues were compared. The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, was published in the January-February 2005 issue of the journal Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics.

"We used the data from the normal speakers to model a prototypical ‘Joe Canadian' tongue,” reported Dr. Tim Bressmann, a professor in the department of speech-language pathology at the University of Toronto. "This is a first step toward assessing the biomechanical impact of different reconstructive techniques on tongue movement for speech. Now, we can work toward determining what the ideal method of reconstruction is for different lesion locations and extents, so that we can ensure optimum speech outcomes for every patient.”

The investigators are now gathering ultrasound findings from more tongue cancer patients to device a database for surgeons who perform partial tongue resection surgeries. "The survival rate in tongue cancer is 70 to 80%,” stated Dr. Bressmann. "Therefore, surgeons need to do a very good job because people will often live with their reconstructions for a long, long time.”




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