ORMO – oral motor skills
Creator:
Meret Oppermann
Curator's Note
Updated: October 2025
ORMO exhibits high social relevance by directly addressing low patient adherence in speech and swallowing therapy, which is critical for stroke recovery and childhood development.
Its novelty is defined by its function as the first „joystick for the tongue,“ translating complex oral muscle movements into objective, measurable digital data. This turns monotonous exercises into motivating, gamified training with precise biofeedback.
The device shows clear foresight by enabling quantitative, data-driven logopedics. It is perfectly positioned for modern teletherapy and remote monitoring, ensuring efficient, personalized care and substantial long-term savings in rehabilitation resources. ORMO transforms a qualitative therapy into a quantitative, scalable healthcare solution.
Abstract
The muscles of the mouth are essential for speaking, chewing, and swallowing. Good control of these muscles is key to clear pronunciation, precise articulation, and expressive facial expressions. Weak or impaired oral motor skills can really mess with communication and everyday activities.
ORMO is a joystick for the tongue that accompanies speech therapy and strengthens the mouth and, in particular, the lip and tongue muscles.
The correct resting position is crucial for healthy tongue function. When relaxed, the tongue lies loosely on the palate, just behind the upper front teeth, without exerting pressure on the teeth. An incorrect tongue position can contribute to jaw and tooth misalignment, speech and swallowing disorders, and mouth breathing.
ORMO specifically strengthens the relevant tongue muscles and has been tested in collaboration with the speech therapy practice Fleischhauer & Bockmann in around 50 model variants. Various shapes, degrees of hardness, and haptics were tested until a realistic, ergonomic prototype was created using casting and printing processes.
The technical component enables data on individual performance levels to be recorded. Training progress is displayed to the user, with strength, speed, precision, and endurance data accessible at any time via an app. This data can also be used in speech therapy treatment. At the same time, visualizing progress increases motivation, as successes become clearly traceable.
ORMO is an innovative training device — a joystick for the tongue — used to accompany speech therapy. It specifically strengthens the mouth, lip, and tongue muscles, making training both effective and motivating.