An Easy Approach for the Classification of Children’s Voices based on the Fundamental Frequency Estimation

Abstract

Voice disorders, also called dysphonia, are qualitative and quantitative alterations of the voice. These pathologies, unfortunately, affect from 6% to 38% of children in the world. Voice disorders may have a negative impact on communication effectiveness, social development and self-esteem. The first weapon against the diffusion and the worsening of these pathologies is prevention. Acoustic analysis is one of the most important tools to appraise the state of health of a voice. It provides information about the possible presence of voice disorders by evaluating specific parameters like the Fundamental Frequency. In this paper we present an easy approach based on a mobile application for voice screening in children. The app provides a robust methodology for the fundamental frequency estimation of the voice signal by analysing in real time a child’s signal. It consists of a continuous vocalization of the vowel /a/ of five seconds in length. The methodology is also able to evaluate undesired noise that can alter the Fundamental Frequency estimation and the correct classification of the evaluated voice signal as pathological or healthy.