The £5,000 laryngograph was funded by the League of Friends of the Gravesham Community Hospital

by Thom Morris

Transsexuals in Gravesham can now get help with raising or lowering the pitch of their voice thanks to a new machine at Gravesham Community Hospital.

The £5,000 laryngograph was funded by the League of Friends of the Gravesham Community Hospital, whose members saw the machine in action at the Bath Street hospital.

Not only can the machine be used by transsexuals, but is also an aid to help people who have "misused" their voice – such as those who need to raise their voice or shout throughout the day, including teachers.

The laryngograph will be used at Gravesham Community Hospital

Speech therapy manager Matt Hardwick, who demonstrated the machine to the League of Friends, said: "The machine picks up the frequency and we can see the pattern appear on the screen and we can compare that to a normal voice as well as seeing any pitch breaks that may need to be worked on.

"It can be used for a variety of reasons, such as if someone wants to lower their pitch, such as a transsexual, or a teacher who might have been shouting or speaking loudly during classes."

Mr Hardwick added: "It's a fantastic piece of equipment and it's really helped our patients because it's instant and you can see what is going on there on the screen and they're happy seeing exactly what is happening.

"The machine works by putting a strap around your neck which is fitted with electrodes which records the voice and then it goes into the computer and is produced as a graph.

"If there are breaks within that graph then there are issues that need to be looked into."