A Voice Conversion System from Electrolarynx Speech to Preoperative Patient's Speech for Total Laryngectomy

Laryngectomy is a life-changing procedure typically performed as a surgical treatment for patients with head and neck cancer. Voice conversion (VC) is a technology that converts one voice into another without changing the linguistic information. Recently, "Save the Voice Project" for patients planning to undergo laryngectomy using our VC technique has been initiated. This study evaluated the speech converted from EL speech using the VC technique in a patient with head and neck cancer who had undergone laryngectomy. Additionally, details of an iPhone/iPad application for voice recording were reported. VC technology would greatly improve the quality of life of patients planning to undergo laryngectomy, especially those with relatively well-preserved vocal function. To preserve the patient's original normal speech, medical staff should perform voice management before and after laryngectomy, and high-quality voice recordings are essential.