NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Vivera is pleased to announce that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a U.S. patent allowance for the Company’s Speech Fluency Evaluation and Feedback method and device.
Stuttering, a speech disorder characterized by speech disfluencies, affects 70 million patients worldwide. While there is no cure for stuttering, there are treatment options available. However, it can be challenging for clinicians to assess stuttering as the severity of a person’s stuttering often varies over time and between situations and settings.
Vivera realized that for patients to receive the most effective treatment and care, clinicians needed a more accurate way to evaluate patient speech disfluencies in real-world environments. In response, the Company developed the stuttering severity assessment device.
This device will allow for continuous monitoring of a patient’s stuttering to give a more accurate assessment and provide feedback to the patient who stutters. The personalized patient information collected will allow clinicians the ability to monitor the therapeutic effects of treatment and adjust each patient’s therapy accordingly.
“The symptoms of stuttering have long been known to vary situation by situation and day by day, raising challenges for those living with stuttering and the clinicians working to help them,” said Gerald A. Maguire, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., Vivera’s Chief Neurosciences Advisor. “The promise of the device is that clinicians and patients alike will be able to have an accurate assessment of stuttering over time and will be able to then optimize treatment.”
“This device will enable stuttering assessments to be done in real-world settings,” said Mehdi Hatamian, Ph.D., Vivera’s Chief Scientific Advisor. He continued, “The device will provide metrics to measure each patient while also monitoring the efficacy of medications and other therapies. Ultimately, clinicians will be able to work better with patients to tailor treatments to their needs. It can also be a valuable tool for clinical studies for stuttering drugs.”
The stuttering assessment and feedback device will include at least one processor configured to collect audio data, extract environment and speech information, and analyze that data. The device is designed to evaluate and measure speech events based on the analysis of the data.
“Vivera continues to be disruptive in the medical device space,” said Stephen J. McColgan, M.D., M.B.A., Vivera’s Chief Medical Officer. “This device will assess speech patterns and help optimize treatment.”
“Vivera is excited about this recent patent allowance,” said Paul Edalat, Chairman and CEO of Vivera. “The Company is committed to developing devices and technologies to assist the entire health sector and is always focused on putting patients first.”
About Vivera Pharmaceuticals
Vivera Pharmaceuticals is an innovative, science-driven pharmaceutical company located in Southern California. The Company has global exclusivity to license the patented and patent-pending TABMELT sublingual drug delivery system for pharmaceutical use and holds its own issued patents on ZICOH, a smart dose-controlled electronic medical device. The Company has also received a Notice of Allowance for its portable telemedicine station, MDZone. With multiple divisions, including its pharmaceutical, neurosciences, medical technology, biosciences, and advanced diagnostics divisions, Vivera Pharmaceuticals is vertically integrated with patented technology, manufacturing capabilities, and distribution for its products.
Contact:
Ashley LeVine
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