Analysis of speech and tongue motion in normal and post-glossectomy speaker using cine MRI.

Jinhee Ha,Robert Ord,Jang-Ho Son,Yeong-Cheol Cho,Iel-Yong Sung,Maureen Stone

doi:10.1590/1678-775720150421

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjectiveSince the tongue is the oral structure responsible for mastication, pronunciation, and swallowing functions, patients who undergo glossectomy can be affected in various aspects of these functions. The vowel /i/ uses the tongue shape, whereas /u/ uses tongue and lip shapes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the morphological changes of the tongue and the adaptation of pronunciation using cine MRI for speech of patients who undergo glossectomy.Material and MethodsTwenty-three controls (11 males and 12 females) and 13 patients (eight males and five females) volunteered to participate in the experiment. The patients underwent glossectomy surgery for T1 or T2 lateral lingual tumors. The speech tasks “a souk” and “a geese” were spoken by all subjects providing data for the vowels /u/ and /i/. Cine MRI and speech acoustics were recorded and measured to compare the changes in the tongue with vowel acoustics after surgery. 2D measurements were made of the interlip distance, tongue-palate distance, tongue position (anterior-posterior and superior-inferior), tongue height on the left and right sides, and pharynx size. Vowel formants Fl, F2, and F3 were measured.ResultsThe patients had significantly lower F2/Fl ratios (F=5.911, p=0.018), and lower F3/F1 ratios that approached significance. This was seen primarily in the /u/ data. Patients had flatter tongue shapes than controls with a greater effect seen in /u/ than /i/.ConclusionThe patients showed complex adaptation motion in order to preserve the acoustic integrity of the vowels, and the tongue modified cavity size relationships to maintain the value of the formant frequencies.

Highlights

Speech adaptation has been studied in patients who have received glossectomy surgery for oral cancer[15]
Tumor location impacts articulation quality with the anterior tongue having the biggest impact on articulation quality and the tongue base having the biggest impact on swallowing[10,21]
The purpose of this study is to investigate the morphological changes of the tongue and the adaptation of pronunciation using cine Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for speech of patients who undergo glossectomy

Summary

Introduction

Speech adaptation has been studied in patients who have received glossectomy surgery for oral cancer[15]. Post-glossectomy articulation may be poor because of irregularity RI DLU ÀRZ DQG UHGXFHG SDODWDO FRQWDFW UHVXOWLQJ from irregular deformations of the tongue. Patients may have limited tongue range of motion, deformation ability, and fibrosis, all of which can reduce speech quality. Studies have isolated several major factors that affect speech quality after glossectomy surgery. Larger tumor size has a more negative impact on patient articulation and swallowing function after surgery[14,23]. Tumor location impacts articulation quality with the anterior tongue having the biggest impact on articulation quality and the tongue base having the biggest impact on swallowing[10,21]. Tumor invasion and radiation treatment affect post-glossectomy speech. Patients who underwent surgery plus radiation therapy showed worse function than patients who only underwent surgery[13]

Methods

Results

Conclusion