A smart health connected collar to raise awareness of begaiement

Today I wanted to talk to you about Stacha, a smart health connected necklace that raises awareness of the problem of stuttering. Stuttering affects up to 1 in 100 adults, or 70 million people worldwide.

Stacha is a new conceptual device that allows wearers to feel a stuttering sensation by sending a weak, happily painless current of electricity through the larynx, which then tightens the throat muscles, making it difficult to pronounce words correctly.

Stuttering is a disorder defined by broken speech, either by repeating syllables, or by extending words, or by prolonged pauses. Sometimes facial and body movements can accompany speaking efforts. Figures from the British Stammering Association suggest that 5% or more of children under the age of five go through a stuttering phase at some point in their speech and language development. Without therapy, a quarter of these children will continue to stutter.

The British Stammering Association lists many apps and electronic devices that help people who stutter to use "impaired hearing feedback". This slows down the speed at which the wearer hears his own voice. Slowing the pace of speech has been shown to help stutterers to speak fluently rather than immediately judging themselves by the way they speak.

But Yuka Fukuoka wanted to create a device that "changes the paradigm of stuttering and speech disorders as a whole". Not only did awareness of stuttering remain weak, but "almost all existing products try to treat people who stutter" rather than educating those who don't.

For several months, she developed the idea of ​​a simulation device with the help of the self-help group Tokyo Genyukai, people from the stuttering circles of the University of Tokyo and researchers until the device to be presented at SXSW earlier this year.

Yuka Fukuoka admitted that Stacha's design offered a "light experience". It was deliberately designed to be accessible; something that can be worn right away for a shared experience. She didn't want to create something that focused on "understanding a disability". She wanted a design that caught the eye of people of all ages and offered a unique learning opportunity.

According to Yuka Fukuoka, this is where wearables are unique; put one on and it becomes part of you. To raise awareness of "invisible" mental health and physical conditions, wearables can be invaluable.

AB SMART HEALTH REVIEW