Tech & Innovation in Healthcare

Question: I see several patients a year suffering from vocal cord damage due to singing, speaking, or therapies related to other conditions. Too often, I tell my patients to rest and take medications until their vocal cords feel better.

Have any advancements been made in vocal cord treatment?

Washington Subscriber

Answer: One treatment option that could be available soon involves bioengineering. Researchers from Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University discovered tissue engineering techniques that produced a humanlike vocal cord structure.

Researchers crafted the bioengineered vocal cord — or vocal fold — scaffold from varying concentrations of hyaluronic acid, which is similar to how a human vocal fold is made. Once the research team created the multiple tissue layers, they studied and documented the acoustic, vibratory, and mechanical properties. The manufactured vocal fold functioned similarly to a natural vocal fold.

The researchers are optimistic about the study’s findings but acknowledge that future research is necessary to assess the effectiveness and safety of the bioengineered vocal fold structure.