Clinical Research Directory

Developing a Multimodal Cancer Pain Database to Support AI-Based Automatic Pain Assessment

The goal of this observational study is to collect short video and sound recordings of people with cancer to create a secure database that can be used in future research to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for pain assessment. The main aim is to build a large, high-quality collection of audiovisual data showing how people with cancer express themselves when they do and do not have pain. Participants will include adults with cancer who are admitted to the oncology ward for pain treatment and a control group admitted for chemotherapy who have no pain. After giving consent, participants will: * Be recorded on video (from the shoulders up) for up to 60 seconds while reading a short sentence and describing their pain or daily experience. * Complete a short questionnaire about their mood and pain expression. * Allow researchers to collect some information from their medical record, such as their pain score, medications, and cancer type. These recordings will be securely stored and used to create a database for future AI research. No medical tests, new treatments, or extra hospital visits are involved. This study will provide the foundation for developing future AI-based tools that could support doctors and patients in monitoring and managing pain more accurately and easily.

Virtual Reality as a Tool for Training Public Speaking Skills in Higher Education Students

According to the scientific literature, public speaking (PS) is an important skill for students to master. However, a large proportion of students do not feel comfortable speaking in public. PS anxiety impacts oral communication (i.e., voice and fluency). These changes can affect speaker's academic and professional success, as well as his credibility. Performing a high-quality PPP with confidence is therefore rarely an innate skill, but fortunately it can be trained and improved. Therefore, training PS skills in representative settings is crucial but often challenging for PS professionals (e.g., speech therapists, vocologists, coaches). This project examines how oral communication skills training including simulations in virtual reality (VR) supports the acquisition of effective oral PS skills. Using acoustic analyses, outcomes from participants in the intervention group (N = 40) will be compared with those of a wait-list control group (N = 40) to determine whether significant differences emerge in filled pauses, speech rate, and vocal intonation during PS. Changes in PS self-efficacy will also be assessed. Regarding secondary outcomes, the study will evaluate changes in self-reported and physiological PS anxiety, as well as self-reported confidence as a speaker. Finally, self-perceived vocal effort during PS will be examined.

Analysis of Musical and Voice Skills in Children and Adult Cochlear Implant Users

Aims: To evaluate the perception and enjoyment of music in cochlear implant (CI) users using specific questionnaires, and comparing their results with a control group of subjects with normal hearing (NH). To analyze the musical abilities of implantees using the musical tool Meludia, and compare the results with the control group. To perfom a voice analysis in implanted patients, compare it with their NH peers, and check if an association with musical perception is observed. Design: Cross-sectional study, both the CI recipients and NH control subjects were assessed once. Setting and subjects: Pre-or perilingual patients aged 6 to 17 years old, and postlingual adults who underwent cochlear implantation from 2000 to January 2023 at La Paz University Hospital. Control group is set up with their NH peers. Study Variables: Socio-demographic and clinical (current age, age at implantation, sex, educational level) variables will be collected, as well as hearing loss (aetiology, duration of deafness), and surgical (type of implant, complete or partial insertion of the electrodes, date of surgery) data. Data from CI fitting (number of active electrodes, type of audio processor) and hearing outcomes with the CI will also be reviewed. Outcome variables: Specific musical skills questionnaires for adults: Munich Music Questionnaire (MuMu) and Music Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (MuRQoL), which will be validated. Musical questionnaire developed specifically for subjects between 6-17 years old. Musical tool (Meludia) to assess musical perception. Praat software for voice analysis. Analysis of the impact of the different audiological, sociodemographic and clinical variables on hearing outcomes, and on musical perception after cochlear implantation, and comparison with the NH control group.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Singer's Voice

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can be used to temporarily and reversibly modulate brain functions and is an increasingly utilized tool to investigate the relationships between brain and behavior. This study aimed to identify the effects of tDCS on vocal quality, vocal range, neuromotor functioning of the larynx and self-reported vocal effort in vocally healthy singers. This is a triple-blinded, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial. The participants will be randomized to one of the three tDCS groups (primary motor cortex, cerebellum or sham). In each group a voice training will be applied at the same tDCS time. The three groups are: (i) cerebellum; (ii) primary motor cortex (M1); (iii) sham. The tDCS parameters in the active groups are anodal - 2mA for 20 minutes, at the sham group the stimuli are finished 30 secondes before starting. Volunteers will pass for 10 intervention days and they will be evaluated for vocal performance before the sessions, in the day 5 of intervention, the last day of intervention (day 10) and 1 month later for follow up evaluation. Voice recordings will be take to assess the following vocal parameters: vocal range profile (VRP) at weak and strong intensities; vocal quality (jitter, shimmer, irregularity, glottal-to-noise excitation ratio, and dysphonia acoustic index) at weak, habitual, and strong intensities; laryngeal diadochokinesis, and self-reported vocal effort using the adapted Borg CR10 scale.