Objectives
This project demonstrates both the technical feasibility and the artistic-emotional potential of integrating anatomical vocal tract models into musical hardware. It introduces the creation and premiere of the Laryngectomy Vocal Tract Organ—an instrument that transforms MRI scans of alaryngeal choir members’ vocal tracts into playable, 3D-printed resonators. By merging biomedical imaging, acoustics, sustainable instrument design, and creative expression, the work explores how medical data can be re-embodied as sound, creating new opportunities for co-creation, awareness, and empathy. The instrument and associated hardware were developed for a concert by the Shout at Cancer laryngectomy choir at King’s Place, London (October 2025).

Methods/design
Unlike a traditional pipe organ, the Vocal Tract Organ employs 3D-printed human vocal tracts as its “pipes.” Each tract is mounted atop a specially designed loudspeaker driver that couples acoustic energy directly into the printed airway. The sound source is a modelled larynx signal, with its fundamental frequency determined by the key pressed and modulated via pitch-bend and vibrato controls. The organ includes stops corresponding to the first sixteen harmonics of each note, enabling harmonic synthesis through combinations of complex waveforms.

A new composition was commissioned to explore the organ’s expressive potential, combining live performance, fixed media, and projected imagery. The laryngectomy choir performed alongside the instrument, establishing a dialogue between living and reconstructed voices.

Results
The concert marked the first public demonstration of the Laryngectomy Vocal Tract Organ. 3D-printed tracts derived from MRI vowel articulations by alaryngeal performers produced stable, characterful resonance patterns when acoustically driven. For alaryngeal choir members, hearing their own vocal tracts contributing to the overall sound created a profound symbolic connection between body, identity, and music. Audience feedback described the performance as both scientifically intriguing and emotionally moving, highlighting its capacity to transform anatomical data into shared sound. A video documented the development process and the performance.

Conclusions
The project confirms the functional viability of vocal-tract-based acoustic synthesis while demonstrating its symbolic and rehabilitative power. It offers a new compositional palette for musicians and a novel medium for re-voicing medical experience. It also showcases the creativity and resilience of individuals living after laryngectomy, raising awareness of the psychosocial impact of laryngeal cancer and its treatment.