An experimental model for the study of tracheoesophageal phonation

Abstract

Tracheoesophageal speech is the most widely used method of speech rehabilitation for those who have undergone a total laryngectomy. Despite its high success rate, the interplay between different factors may inhibit voice production. Among these factors, the amount of muscle contraction in the pharyngoesophageal segment is the most significant one. The present work is aimed at studying the effect of muscle contraction on tracheoesophageal voice production. An experimental model has been developed, in which a silicone tube, acting as the pharyngoesophageal segment, is connected at both ends to rigid tubes representing the pharynx and the esophagus. The effect of the musculature of the pharyngoesophageal segment has been included in the model by two different components. The first one, modeling the tendency of the muscle layer to close the pharyngoesophageal segment, has been taken into account by placing the tube inside a pressurized chamber. The second, modeling the stretching caused by longitudinal muscle fibers, has been included by means of a sliding device in one of the terminations of the silicone tube. The necessary parameters for self-sustained oscillations to occur were measured and compared with predictions made by a mathematical model [Tourinho et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 149, 1979–1988 (2021)].