Electroglottographic and Acoustic Parametrization of Phonatory Quality Provide Voice Profiles of Pathological Speakers

Abstract

The present study firstly tries to find subgroups of pathological male and female phonation using data from a number of 534 pathological speakers. Secondly, this subgroup classification provides a basis for achieving voice profiles of pathological phonatory quality. Using complementarily orientated electroglottographic and acoustic parametrization of phonatory quality, sustained vowel productions of 267 male and 267 female speakers were considered. In a first step, a clustering technique differentiates three subgroups within each gender on the basis of the EGG- and three subgroups on the basis of the acoustic parameters. In a second step, this subgroup definition allows one to present voice profiles of pathological speakers by combining the parameter means of the electroglottographically determined subgroups with those of the acoustically determined subgroups. The presented voice profiles provide a finer reference basis for the classification of different pathological phonation types as well as for the evaluation of shifts in individual phonatory behavior due to therapy or spontaneous recovery.