Dr. Imogen Brooks, 30, from Newham, East London, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of head and neck cancer, when she was just 26.
After surgery three years ago, she lost most of her tongue. However, after reconstruction, her speech was good, but radiotherapy subsequently shrank her tongue tissue, making it difficult for her to formulate words and speak.
Initially, Brooks relied on speech assistance technology for phone calls. But many acquaintances and former colleagues preferred to avoid talking to her in person.
She mentioned in an interview that, "It was so, so common for people to just smile and even not respond and make up in their head what I had said." There were also times when strangers looked at her in fear when she spoke.
These difficulties built up misunderstandings that lead to incorrect information being passed during medical appointments and problems at work, which she said were "really frustrating".
Brooks researched prosthetic tongues, and eventually reached out to the clinicians at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, asking them if they could make one for her.
Michael Brown, a dental technician at the hospital said that they had never made something like this before, but his team loved taking up challenges.
Brooks recounted that when she first asked about a prosthetic, it was like assembling the Avengers. At her next appointment at the trust, there were eight people in the room who were willing to try.
Carolyn Doughty, an advanced speech and language therapist at the trust, formed a multi-disciplinary team from restorative dentistry, including doctors and laboratory technicians.
The trust created two trial tongues after months of research and scanning before refining the final version.
The prosthetic tongue has a U-shaped frame made of cobalt chrome, and it clips onto Dr Brooks’ bottom teeth. A fixed silicone tongue is attached to the frame.
She said that the design was based on such a shape that would allow Imogen to make a maximum number of sounds. They adopted a trial and error method to find a shape that would work for her.
Brooks would take home designs, try them out and come back to the clinic with lots of notes.
Reports described the device as making speaking less effortful and less tiring, allowing Brooks to speak for longer without needing to pause for breath in the middle of a sentence.
Dr. Brooks noticed improvements in her speech after just three days. Although it took her around two weeks to get used to the prosthetic.
She eventually went on to pass her oral exam for her doctorate in skin disease therapies at King’s College London.
She has also noticed changes in people’s behavior while interacting with her. They are more willing to listen to her and can understand her better.
The improvement has also helped her communicate more easily with her grandmother, who is hard of hearing. Before receiving the prosthesis, Brooks often relied on hand gestures and writing to communicate with her.
According to reports by ITV News, the device is believed to be the first bespoke artificial tongue of its kind made through the NHS. Carolyn Doughty reportedly believes it is the first such NHS prosthesis.
(Rh/MF/MSM)