The Problem

 

Cleft lip-nose-palate is the most common surgical birth difference, occurring in about 1 of every 600 live births. The cleft of the palate leaks air up through the nose while talking, causing hypernasal speech that is stigmatizing and difficult to understand. Cleft palate surgery aims to restore “normal” speech, but this inherently subjective outcome is difficult to assess without cleft-specialist speech language pathologists (SLP), who are in limited supply in disadvantaged populations.

As children grow up, the primary repaired palate may not be able to keep up with the child’s growth, causing speech to worsen over time. However, with limited SLPs across the country, treatment for patients with cleft speech are often delayed due to a lack of screening. Thus, there is an immediate need for automated speech screening tools to help extend the reach of SLPs to locate children who may benefit from surgical revision or specialized speech services early on.

 
 

CleftScreen App

This project represents several firsts in the assessment of speech of children with clefts:

  • Online crowdsourcing

  • Patient-oriented mobile app

  • Automated speech labeling

  • Artificial intelligence algorithms

 
 

App Download Links

iOS App Store

Google Play Store

 
 

Awarded Research Grants

 

  • 2023 Kunal Patel UCSF Catalyst Grant

  • 2020 PSF Translational and Innovation Research Grant

 

Privacy policy

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Ways we keep data secure and confidential.

Meet the Team

  • Alexander Y. Lin, MD, MBA, FACS

    Professor and Director of Surgical Innovations, Director, Craniofacial Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Co-Director, Center for Advanced 3D+ Technologies (CA3D+) at UCSF Plastic Surgery

  • Kate Holdener, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

    Saint Louis University

  • Abby Stylianou, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

    Saint Louis University

  • Andi Zhang, BA

    Fourth Year Medical Student

    Saint Louis University School of Medicine

FAQs

  • Our mobile app was developed at the Saint Louis University by Dr. Kate Holdener in collaboration between the Division of Plastic Surgery and the Computer Science Department.

  • To request account deletion, please send an email titled “Account Deletion” to our email: slccc.cg.slu@gmail.com

    You can also fill out our Contact Us form below.

  • The data within the app are kept for as long as the user’s account is active.

Contact us.

Please feel free to contact us, if you have any questions or inquiries.