Craniofacial Outcomes Research Lab (CORL)

The Craniofacial Outcomes Research Laboratory (CORL) is one of a few labs of its kind in the United States. We use state-of-the-art equipment to study speech and resonance disorders related to cleft palate and craniofacial anomalies.

Research Interests & Projects

Organized as part of the Center for Pediatric Auditory and Speech Sciences (CPASS) at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, we work with a variety of technologies to measure vocal track pressure and airflow.

These include:

• PERCI-SARS (a software-based instrumentation system)
• InvTool (a program used to record speech for synthesizing)
• Nasometry (a noninvasive technique used to measure the size of the velopharyngeal opening combined with the measurement of nasal emission)

These technologies are proving invaluable in advancing diagnostic abilities to assess resonance and speech disorders and to objectively evaluate the outcomes of the interventions undertaken to improve them. Our work also helps Nemours clinicians determine treatment plans for their pediatric patients and monitor their progress.