METHOD AND VOCAL APPARATUS FOR CORRECTING SPEECH IN CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM PALATOFARYNGEAL INSUFFICIENCY Russian patent published in 2005 - IPC

FIELD: medicine; medical engineering.

SUBSTANCE: method involves treating sphincter muscles with air jet. To do it, the rhinopharynx is overlapped and required pressure is created in oropharyngeal cavity. Speech quality and functional state of palatofaryngeal structures is periodically controlled from occlusion degree in dynamics. Unsatisfactory speech quality and functional state control being the case, palatofaryngeal ring structures optimum degree is procured by reducing air jet supply via the rhinopharynx. The vocal apparatus has hard palatine vault-shaped base member fixable on maxillary teeth and pharyngeal part rigidly connected to it, which distal end is rigidly connected to the rhinopharyngeal obturator. The base and rhinopharyngeal obturator are made of plastic. The base is designed so that its edge turned to the soft palatine does not reach hard palatine boundary in being fitted to the oral cavity. The pharyngeal portion of the apparatus is built of wire bent as symmetric loop having the ends rigidly fixed in the base along the median line. Loop twist part is rigidly fixed in the rhinopharyngeal obturator as the distal pharyngeal part end. Lateral portions of the loop are bent in a way that pharyngeal part of the vocal apparatus passes under Passavan cushion and enters the rhinopharynx repeating the remaining free region of the hard palate when being fitted to the oral cavity.

EFFECT: enhanced effectiveness of treatment; simplified treatment process.

3 cl, 1 dwg, 1 tbl