Access to speech therapy independently of of native language
Reference number | |
Coordinator | Dialog speech and language technologies AB |
Funding from Vinnova | SEK 300 000 |
Project duration | October 2023 - March 2024 |
Status | Ongoing |
Venture | Innovative Startups |
Call | Innovative Impact Startups autumn 2023 |
Purpose and goal
Dialog provides a product for speech therapists and patients for independent language training, aiming to increase both intensity and accessibility. According to Socialstyrelsen´s own report, these are aspects where current practices are not living up to the requirements. Another aspect pointed out in the report is the access to speech therapy for individuals with a different native language than Swedish. With this project, the goal is to expand the product with another language, for speech therapists and individuals with a different native language than Swedish in Sweden.
Expected results and effects
The expected outcome of the solution is increased accessibility to speech therapy for individuals with a different native language than Swedish. Since the goal of the project is to provide the product in one additional language, only patients who speak that specific language will be included. However, with this project, we will significantly lower the threshold to expand the product to more languages and use cases. The project will furthermore result in a much better understanding of the requirements of the larger patient target group.
Planned approach and implementation
The project has three main objectives. The first is to investigate the technical prerequisites for providing speech therapy exercises in an additional language. This includes testing language models and making changes to the architecture of the existing product. The second objective is to explore which patient groups, besides people with aphasia, that can benefit from the new functionality. The third main objective is to actually deliver the product in the new language for the new use case, which also involves planning and creating suitable material in the new language.