Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP) is a potentially deadly disease, that results in wart-like growths appearing in airways, impacting on quality of voice as well as breathing.

There is no cure and children have to undergo continuous operations to remove warts as they return.

The only way of currently diagnosing RRP is by a nasendoscopy, a small camera put up the nose, or by general anaesthetic.

But now experts at Strathclyde University are working on a less invasive procedure.

Families of those with the condition hope it will raise awareness of a potentially deadly disease.

Deby Graham didn't notice her seven-year-old daughter Silver had a problem until she said her first word, even though she was born with RRP.

She told STV News: "It was 'hello', but even then it was really low pitch. She also had a number of difficulties in terms of food swallowing.

"We had taken her to the GP a number of times just to try and investigate what was going on, if there was any reasoning behind this.

"We were frequently told that there was nothing they could see that was sinister. They said it was maybe just her voice and she perhaps just had a low quality of voice."

The nasendoscopy can be extremely traumatic for young children.

Silver said: "When I first got it I was scared but then I got used to it. I hate it when I have to get surgery because it hurts.

"And I hate it when I have to get that breathing mask on."

Researchers are now hopeful they can diagnose RRP by studying sound waves from voice recordings.

Professor John Soraghan, who works on the project alongside Dr Wendy Cohen and Dr Gaetano Di Caterina, said: "It offers a challenge because these patterns change from person to person, from child to child.

"It's not a straight forward classification.

"But if we're able to do this automatically with speech analysis it would avoid invasive detection."

Ear, nose and throat surgeon Dr David Wynne has carried out procedures to remove the warts from young children.

Dr Wynne, who works at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, said: "When they are young they don't understand what is happening, but after being here a few times they realise when they're coming to the hospital they're going to get an endoscopy.

"They realise when they don't have their breakfast and don't go to school they might be going for an operation.

"And they don't like it and they do get upset. So it's a way of trying to reduce that burden."

The study is being partly funded by money from the Marc Atkins fund.

Marc had a particularly aggressive strain of the disease and died when he was eight years old.

His grandmother Wendy Atkins has been fundraising for research ever since.

"We had to spend over two years waiting for this diagnosis for Marc," she said.

"So we just feel that if we can get a diagnosis early at least parents can be prepared and they can let their children understand what's wrong with them."