Studying the glottal vibration onset and offset using laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy in connected speech

Abstract

Laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) is a powerful tool to study the detailed vibratory characteristics of the vocal folds. The use of HSV in connected speech enables us to study the transitory behaviors of the vocal folds during different vocalizations. The onset and offset of voicing contain critical information about the health and function of the vocal folds. In this work, HSV is used to study how the voicing begins/ends at the laryngeal level at the onset/offset of phonation. HSV data were obtained during production of connected speech from participants with non-pathological voices and patients with different neurogenic voice disorders. The data collection was performed using a Photron FASTCAM mini AX200 high-speed camera coupled with a flexible nasolaryngoscope. The glottal attack time and glottal offset time were measured at the onset and offset of different vocalizations, respectively, from the HSV data. The findings show differences in the onset and offset measures between the two groups of participants. The vocal fold vibratory behaviors will be discussed qualitatively and quantitatively using these measures. The use of HSV in connected speech could help us develop accurate voice assessment procedures to assess the vocal folds function during connected speech.