Abstract
The purpose of this study was to quantify the size of vocal fold polyps and to investigate the relationship between the glottal gap and parameters of acoustic voice analysis and phonetography. Eighty-one microlaryngoscopic images and digital recordings of voices (acoustic analysis and phonetogram) acquired from the patients with vocal fold polyps (VFPs) were employed in this study. Vocal fold (VF) images were collected during routine direct microlaryngoscopy using Moller-Wedel Universa 300 surgical microscope, 3-CCD Elmo 768 x 576-pixel color video camera and a 300 W Xenon light source. Acoustic voice analysis and phonetography were established using Dr. Speech (Tiger Electronics Inc.) software. Microlaryngoscopic images were processed by original software created by ELINTA and displayed on a monitor. The relative lengths and widths of vocal fold polyps as well as percentage area of VFP were calculated. The Pearson's correlation was applied to reveal the correlation between VFP dimensions and acoustic voice parameters. There were no statistically significant differences between the dimensions of left and right vocal folds and VFPs. Statistically significant slight to mild correlations between measured dimensions of VFP acoustic and phonetogram parameters were revealed, with HNR and phonetogram area showing the strongest correlation to the size of VFPs. The results of our study confirm that quantitative microlaryngoscopic measurements of vocal fold polyp and glottal gap dimensions may be a useful tool for objective assessment of glottic incompetence and voice impairment.
Highlights
Endoscopic examination of the larynx represents an essential part of the assessment of patients in clinical practice
The results of our study confirm that quantitative microlaryngoscopic measurements of vocal fold polyp and glottal gap dimensions may be a useful tool for objective assessment of glottic incompetence and voice impairment
The purpose of this study was to elaborate a method for measuring of vocal fold polyp (VFP) dimensions acquired from microlaryngoscopic images and investigate the relationship between these measurements and parameters of acoustic voice analysis and phonetography
Summary
Endoscopic examination of the larynx represents an essential part of the assessment of patients in clinical practice. Employment of two parallel laser beam projection system or twopoint-light projection with double reflecting mirror technique as clip-on device allows definition of a metric scale within an endoscopic image [2, 3]. This may be helpful in quantitative morphometric measurement of laryngeal lesions, voice diagnostics, and in monitoring during voice treatment. Some studies have attempted to measure the glottic space from video laryngostroboscopic images objectively and determine the relationship between the relative glottic space and the degree of breathiness in dysphonic patients [4], to quantify criteria for prediction and evaluation of outcome of surgical treatment of unilateral laryngeal paralysis [5, 6]. Authors found a positive correlation between glottic area and breathy voice in unilateral vocal fold paralysis and confirmed
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