Lab News
New Review of Multilingual PROMs for Dysphonia Published in the Journal of Voice
We are excited to announce that our lab’s latest study, titled "Comprehensive Review of Multilingual Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Dysphonia", will be published in the Journal of Voice and is available online as of January 16, 2025.
Authored by Grace Chow, Dr. Maxwell Sher, Dr. Gintas Krisciunas, and Dr. Lauren Tracy, this study addresses a critical gap in the evaluation of dysphonia (voice disorders) by exploring the limitations of multilingual Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). While PROMs are vital tools for laryngologists assessing dysphonia, their translation into languages other than English is limited and often insufficiently validated, risking a loss of meaning. This comprehensive review closely examines this problem, highlighting the potential for translation and cross-cultural validation of PROMs to allow for more diverse assessment of patients with dysphonia.
You can access the full text of the study at ScienceDirect.
To learn more about our lab's ongoing research in voice disorders, visit here.
New Study on Non-Invasive Screening for Laryngeal Cancer Published in American Journal of Otolaryngology
We are excited to announce that our lab's latest study, "Non-invasive screening for laryngeal cancer using the oral cavity as a proxy for differentiation of laryngeal cancer versus leukoplakia: A novel application of ESS technology and artificial intelligence supported statistical modeling," has been published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery, available online as of December 24, 2024.
Laryngeal leukoplakia - a precursor to laryngeal cancer - presently requires patients to frequently visit ENT specialists for examination and biopsy. The study, authored by Mitali Sakharkar, Gabriele Spokas, Lucas Berry, Kadesh Daniels, Pravarut Nithagon, Eladio Rodriguez-Diaz, Ph.D., Lauren Tracy, M.D., Jacob Pieter Noordzij, M.D., Irving Bigio, Ph.D., Gregory Grillone, M.D., and Gintas Krisciunas, MPH, MA, Ph.D., explores a novel approach to laryngeal cancer screening that utilizes elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS). ESS - a novel technology developed by the Boston University Biomedical Optics Lab - uses light refraction patterns and artificial intelligence to distinguish between human tissue types. The technology is advantageous because it's non-invasive, produces results in real-time, and can be built into devices that are easily operable by non-specialists. For example, ESS lies at the core of DermaSensor devices used by primary care physicians to screen for skin cancer.
You can read the full study at ScienceDirect. To learn more about our lab’s ongoing research in this area, visit here.
The Lab Builds Gingerbread Houses
The OTO-COATI Lab celebrated the 2024 holiday season by building gingerbread houses together. With a mansion, a party house, and a porch in the neighborhood, should these researchers should go into (gingerbread) real estate? Probably depends on when they're hungry.
Happy holidays!
Devin Lucas Receives 2nd Place Award for Best Oral Presentation at the ESSD 2024 Annual Congress
We are proud to announce that Devin Lucas, a research coordinator in the OTO-COATI lab, has received the 2nd Place Award for Best Oral Presentation at the prestigious European Society for Swallowing Disorders (ESSD) 14th Annual Congress. The event took place from September 23-27, 2024, and brought together leading researchers and clinicians from around the world to share innovative research in the field of swallowing disorders.
Devin presented her project entitled “Identifying the Association between Post-Extubation Laryngeal Edema and Aspiration in Acute Respiratory Failure Patients,” which was co-authored by Dr. Ryan Peterson, Mitali Sakharkar, Winston Liu, Alix Rubio, Dr. Marc Moss, and Dr. Gintas Krisciunas. This award recognizes the quality and impact of their research, which is poised to meaningfully contribute to the understanding of post-extubation complications in critically ill patients.
Congratulations to Devin and the team for this outstanding achievement!
You can learn more about the OTO-COATI lab's research on acute respiratory failure here.
Grace Chow Presents at the 2024 Fall Voice Conference
Last October, OTO-COATI research coordinator Grace Chow represented the lab at the 2024 Fall Voice Conference. The focus of the Fall Voice Conference is the clinical care of patients with voice-related difficulties and how clinical and basic science research guide clinical care. At the conference, hosted in Charlotte, NC, Grace presented the project, "Comprehensive Review of Multilingual Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for Dysphonia." Grace carried out the project with co-authors Drs. Maxwell Sher, Gintas Krisciunas, and Lauren Tracy. Asked about her experience presenting at the conference, Grace offered the following reflection:
“Attending Fall Voice was a great experience! I had the opportunity to present a poster and share my research with experts and peers in the field of voice. It was great to engage in thoughtful discussions about the challenges of working with multilingual populations in dysphonia assessment, and I received valuable feedback that will help refine my work moving forward. The conference provided an excellent platform for connecting with other researchers and clinicians, exchanging ideas, and staying up to date with the latest advancements in voice science. I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such an important conversation and excited to continue exploring ways to improve PROMs for diverse populations.”
Launch of The OTO-COATI Lab Website
Though Boston University's Otolaryngology Clinical Outcomes, Assessment, & Technological Innovation (OTO-COATI) Lab has contributed to advancements in otolaryngology research for many years, we have done so relatively under the radar - at least on the internet. With the launch of the OTO-COATI Lab website, there is now a perfect online space to not only display the lab's interdisciplinary research efforts, but also showcase our amazing faculty, staff, students, and collaborators.