Voice Box
From: Technology Review -  May/June 2000, page 21

Have you ever heard a strange robotic voice, then turned to see someone
speaking through an electrolarynx? For victims of laryngeal cancer, a buzzer
pressed to the neck restores speech by stepping in for lost vocal cords, but
produces machine-like sounds that can be hard to understand. 

In an effort to restore natural pitch and control, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Infirmary researchers are developing an electrolarynx commanded by the same
nerve signals that normally control the voice. The strategy is to attach
laryngeal nerves to small muscles in the neck, then use electrical signals
from those muscles to turn the electrolarynx on and off and control its
frequency. Doctors have re-routed nerves in nine patients so far. Project
leader Robert Hillman says neural control would allow hands-free operation of
the electrolarynx. Eventually, the entire system could be implanted. 

http://www.meei.harvard.edu/
http://www.meei.harvard.edu/research/otoproj.html#electro