Proposta de um método alternativo para reabilitação da força da língua utilizando jogos digitais

Abstract

The tongue plays an important role in mastication, swallowing, sucking and speech articulation. Adequate tongue strength is essential for these functions to be performed harmoniously. Weakness or lack of coordination of the tongue may cause functional impairment, orthodontic and aesthetic changes, and requires a rehabilitation work, consisting of exercises that promote tongue muscles contraction. There are very few tools to accomplish this work and generally the exercises are repetitive and tiresome. The proposal presented in this document is the creation of a new method for rehabilitation of tongue strength in order to make the speech therapy easier and more pleasant, to increase patient adherence to treatment and, thus, to promote the therapy success. Computer games controlled by the tongue were developed, as well as a prototype to be embedded in the oral cavity of the user, which will be the controller. After the technological development of the prototype, tests were conducted in the SpeechLanguage Pathology Outpatient Clinic of the Hospital of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. The impact of this new technology was then analysed in an appropriate environment and in real working conditions. It is expected that this instrument will increase patient adherence to treatment and enable a more pleasant and efficient therapeutic process. This is an innovative proposal for the development of techniques and devices for the Speech Language-Pathology science