Speech and language (SL) are central to the human experience: they are indispensable means for people to convey and receive knowledge, thoughts, feelings as well as to participate in social life. However, a huge number of people worldwide suffer from speech impairments and voice deterioration due to degenerative diseases which result in a substantial inability to naturally or fluently communicate. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the 2nd most common neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s, affecting approx. 10 million people worldwide and 1 million in the EU today, meaning that 1 person every 30 minutes is diagnosed with this condition. With an ageing population, the prevalence of this condition is expected to double by 2030.
It is estimated that up to 90% of people with Parkinson’s disease will experience speech and voice disorders. As a result, people with PD report they are less likely to participate in conversation, or have confidence in social settings than healthy individuals in their age group. The earlier a person receives a baseline speech evaluation and speech therapy, the more likely he or she will be able to maintain communication skills as the disease progresses. Communication is a key element in quality of life and positive self-concept and confidence for people with PD. However, to date, several challenges remain for both patients and professionals, including, but not limited to:
- A severe difficulty in entering SL therapies due to long wait lists in the National Healthcare Systems, which, in some areas, can be up to 18 months;
- The need for patients to practice in a known, safe environment, at the same time receiving support and close monitoring from professionals to improve the outcomes of their speech and language therapies;
- A dramatically increasing cost of Parkinson’s disease treatments, which is expected to overtake the cost of treating cancer by 2040 in the EU.
Telea is a market-creating innovation offering new value to healthcare providers, speech and language therapists (SLTs), patients affected by PD and their families. Telea aims to provide remote, early intervention for patients’ SL Therapy, to help patients maintain their voice quality of life for as long as possible and reduce the associated healthcare costs. In the future, Telea will expand to other cohorts within speech and language therapy.
Telea provides Clinicians with a web-based care management platform for their Parkinson’s disease patients; Patients with a mobile app which delivers their care program, analyses their voice, and tracks their progress for their therapist.
The funding by the WomenTech EU programme, combined with much needed visibility was crucial to support the implementation of the product roadmap necessary for the US, UK and Irish markets consolidation phase as well as support the commercial activities for Telea.
