The artificially grown vocal cords are designed to act like vibrating tissues. The tissue hums in tune, synchronizing with with normal, human vocal cords. Researchers, led by a team from the Division of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, have turned to bio-engineering to achieve this feat.
The condition of being unable to speak due to vocal cord damage is called dysphonia. It does not necessarily mean the afflicted person cannot talk at all, however the dysphonic voice often sounds hoarse or breathy; coupled with a harshness or roughness.
For the new research, according to Science News, scientists used two different types of human vocal fold cells to form a functional mucosa. The mucosa was then grafted into a dog’s larynx. Once connected, the bio-engineered vocal fold was found to reproduce natural physiology. This included the necessary vibrations to transmit sound.
In a second wave of studies, the same research group experimented on mice. The mice were genetically modified to contain human immune cells. Here it was found that the bio-engineered mucosa could be tolerated.
Although experiments are a little away from a transplant in the larynx of a human, the results are nonetheless interesting and could one day lead to surgical procedures that give people back their voices.
The new development is described in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The research paper is titled “Bioengineered vocal fold mucosa for voice restoration.”
