Ochsner ALS Center Offers Innovative Program to Preserve Patient Voices

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating motor neuron disease that affects 30,000 people in the U.S. Patients experience difficulty moving, speaking, swallowing and breathing – leading to respiratory failure. The Ochsner ALS Center, a Recognized Treatment Center by the ALS Association, is a comprehensive center treating these patients.

Voice Banking is an innovative service offered and conducted by UQ – Ochsner Clinical School students that allows patients to preserve their voices so they are available once they lose the ability to speak. After recording over 1,600 preselected and personal phrases, patients are given a lasting ability to communicate.

– Daniel Larriviere, MD, Vice-Chair for Neurology and Director of the Neuromuscular Division, Ochsner Health System