Dame Julie Andrew's 'lost' voice may be restored by bionic vocal cord

London, August 21 (ANI): Dame Julie Andrews, who lost her full vocal range after surgery in 1997, is working with scientists developing artificial vocal cords that might restore her voice.

The 76-year-old actress is being treated by a voice doctor collaborating on the project, and also chairs the non-profit organisation Voice Health Institute that is funding the research.

The American team of researchers, hope to test the elastic synthetic tissue on patients by next year.

And the 'Mary Poppins' actor could be one of the first beneficiaries of the injected biogel, which is designed to vibrate in the voice-box like a real vocal cord.

The vocal-cord gel developed by Professor Robert Langer's team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, is based on a material that is already being used in approved remedies.

"The synthetic vocal-cord gel has similar properties as the material found in human vocal cords and flutters in response to air-pressure changes, just like the real thing," the Independent quoted Langer as saying.

"Julie Andrews has visited our lab several times. I think she really wanted to learn about what we were doing and see if there was any way she could help," he said.

Andrews became involved with the research, after being treated by Professor Steven Zeitels, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Voice Centre, who is working with the MIT team. (ANI)