Frequently Asked Questions
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General
What is Flowen?
Flowen is a real-time neural biofeedback platform designed to support people who stutter (PWS). Its on-device audio pipeline — amplitude, pitch, and a voice-tension index — runs in under 80ms; block, prolongation, and repetition detection resolves within 300ms end-to-end. Feedback is visual and, on devices that support it, vibrotactile.
Who is Flowen for?
Flowen is built for three audiences: individuals who stutter who want a structured, private practice environment; Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) who want to extend their clinical reach with remote monitoring; and institutional commissioners — NHS ICBs, Access to Work, and Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) providers — who want a DCB0129-compliant digital therapeutic.
Is Flowen a medical device?
Flowen is a digital health tool governed under the UK's DCB0129 Clinical Safety Standard for Health IT. It is not a Class I, IIa, IIb, or III medical device under the UK MDR 2002 (as amended). It is designed as a supplementary therapeutic aid and does not replace clinical assessment or diagnosis.
Does Flowen cure stuttering?
No. Flowen does not cure stuttering. It provides structured practice tools based on established fluency-shaping techniques — easy onset, reduced speaking rate, controlled breathing — which are well-evidenced for reducing disfluency frequency and severity. Results vary by individual.
Product & Technology
How does the biofeedback work?
Your microphone captures raw PCM audio at 16kHz. Our on-device engine computes RMS amplitude in 10ms frames and a fundamental-frequency (pitch) and voice-tension estimate in 40ms analysis blocks — all well under the pipeline's 80ms budget. The results drive the live coaching overlay in real time. (The 3D avatar's lip movement is driven separately, by the AI voice it speaks with.)
What devices does Flowen work on?
Flowen runs in any modern browser via WebRTC. A dedicated native iOS and Android app (React Native / Expo) with hardware-optimised audio capture (RemoteIO on iOS; Oboe on Android) is in development.
Is my voice data stored?
Raw audio is never stored. Acoustic biomarkers (aggregated RMS, pitch, laryngeal tension index) are retained per your data retention policy — defaulting to 30 days for session snapshots. All data is stored in UK data centres, encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3). You can request erasure at any time under UK GDPR Article 17.
What is a viseme?
A viseme is a visual representation of a phoneme — the smallest unit of sound — as produced by the mouth and lips. Flowen maps 42 viseme states to IPA phoneme symbols and drives a 3D avatar to give real-time visual feedback on lip position, jaw aperture, and laryngeal engagement.
What is the laryngeal tension index?
The laryngeal tension index (LTI) is a proprietary Flowen metric — a score from 0 to 100 — computed from pitch-period jitter and amplitude shimmer, both measured in real time from your voice. It's a proxy for vocal strain, not a diagnostic instrument. High LTI values prompt an easy-onset reset cue during practice.
Pricing & Access
How much does Flowen cost?
Flowen offers three tiers: Founding Member at £19.95/month (price-locked for early cohort), Standard Access at £39.90/month, and Government/Public Funds at £79.99/seat/month (billed annually). NHS and Access to Work procurement is handled through our institutional inquiry form.
Can I use Access to Work funding to pay for Flowen?
Yes. Access to Work can cover assistive technology and digital therapeutic tools for employees with a disability or health condition that affects their ability to work. Flowen's Government tier is structured to comply with AtW procurement requirements. Contact us to discuss your specific situation.
Is Flowen available through the NHS?
We are actively engaging with NHS Integrated Care Boards. Flowen is structured for NHS procurement under the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC). Contact our clinical team at clinical@flowen.digital for a procurement conversation.
Is there a free trial?
We are currently in an early access program. Join our waitlist to be notified when free trial allocations open.
Privacy & Security
Where is my data stored?
All Flowen user data is stored in UK data centres (UK-GBR data residency region). We do not transfer personal data to the EEA, USA, or any third country without an adequate safeguard in place. Our data controller entity is Flowen Group HoldCo.
Do you share my voice data with anyone?
We do not sell or share raw audio. Clinicians linked to your account (with your explicit consent) can view your disfluency telemetry reports. Aggregated, anonymised acoustic features may be used to improve our AI models — you can opt out in account settings.
How do I request data erasure?
You can submit a UK GDPR Article 17 erasure request from your account settings. Our automated pipeline anonymises PII and deletes voice biomarker data within 30 days of request. The request and completion timestamps are logged in an immutable audit ledger.
What is DCB0129?
DCB0129 is the NHS Digital Clinical Safety Standard for Health IT systems in England. It requires health software developers to appoint a Clinical Safety Officer, maintain a hazard log, and produce a Clinical Safety Case Report. Flowen complies with DCB0129 as a condition of its institutional offering.