All speech valves, patches and elastic mechanisms were tested and optimized using our unique pneumatic simulator device, a device capable of, not only mimicking the subtle breathing patterns of healthy and ailed persons but of (the strong and violent-high pressure and flow) coughing and sneezing as well. The computer controlled industrial valve operated set-up can mimic days of breathing with periodic coughing events and respond to anomalies. A heat-controlled table simulates skin temperature for the testing of the adhesion characteristics of, for instance, adhesive stoma patches.