THREE Bangor University researchers have been honoured by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

In an award ceremony in Nottingham, Delyth Prys, Dewi Bryn Jones a Stefan Ghazzali of the Language Technologies Unit, Canolfan Bedwyr, were presented with a Giving Voice Award.

The three, through their Lleisiwr project, funded by the Welsh Government, had developed software to create personalised synthetic voices to help patients about to lose their own voices.

The project enabled voice banking in Welsh and English so that a digital version of the voices could be built.

The judges were of the opinion that this could "transform the lives" of people with motor neuron disease or head and neck cancer.

They were nominated by Rhian Wyn, a speech and Language Therapist, at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

They were also praised the way the team had brought the needs of people with speech, language and communication difficulties to the attention of the wider public.

Rhian explained: “Although voice banking services have been available for some time through the medium of English, we as speech and language therapists know that one is also needed in Welsh and that both languages are needed for these patients who speak Welsh”. She also said that the work had been filmed for an S4C television programme called “Achub Llais John” (Rescuing John’s Voice), following a patient who had had a laryngectomy and how he was given a personalized digital voice, and she added: “It’s been an honour to work with the team and nominate them for this award”. A copy of the short video shown at the Award Ceremony can be seen at youtu.be/DSHtutQ1afs.