VocalHUM: real-time whisper-to-speech enhancement for patients with vocal frailty

VocalHUM is a smart system aiming to enhance the intelligibility of patients’ whispered speech in real-time, basing on audio data only. Its purpose is to facilitate the patient-caregiver communication, and it is primarily designed for patients in a temporary or prolonged state of physical and vocal frailty (e.g., respiratory infections, geriatric weakness, or partial/total paralysis). The resulting whisper-to-speech algorithm is language-independent and combines real whispered speech, synthetized vowels, and consonant enhancement techniques.