Computer-assisted measurement system for x-ray films of the vocal tract.

Abstract

Measurements on sagittal X rays of the vocal tract may be made directly in terms of the variables of an articulatory model by superimposing a computer-generated vocal-tract outline onto the x-ray image. Previous methods require an operator to trace a pen or pointer coupled to a recording device along the outlines or the projected image. The new system uses two video signals, one derived from a television camera scanning the projected x-ray image, the second from data in a computer display buffer. The computer display is modified through adjustment of control potentiometers assigned to the model variables. Convergence to a match between the two images is found to be a substantially quicker and easier task than manually tracing the image outline.