Assessment Of Dysarthric Speech Research Articles

Significant sensors and parameters in assessment of dysarthric speech

PurposeDysarthria is a neuromotor speech disorder caused by neuromuscular disturbances that affect one or more articulators resulting in unintelligible speech. Though inter-phoneme articulatory variations are well captured by formant frequency-based acoustic features, these variations are expected to be much higher for dysarthric speakers than normal. These substantial variations can be well captured by placing sensors in appropriate articulatory position. This study focuses to determine a set of articulatory sensors and parameters in order to assess articulatory dysfunctions in dysarthric speech.Design/methodology/approachThe current work aims to determine significant sensors and parameters associated using motion path and correlation analyzes on the TORGO database of dysarthric speech. Among eight informative sensor channels and six parameters per channel in positional data, the sensors such as tongue middle, back and tip, lower and upper lips and parameters (y, z, φ) are found to contribute significantly toward capturing the articulatory information. Acoustic and positional data analyzes are performed to validate these identified significant sensors. Furthermore, a convolutional neural network-based classifier is developed for both phone-and word-level classification of dysarthric speech using acoustic and positional data.FindingsThe average phone error rate is observed to be lower, up to 15.54% for positional data when compared with acoustic-only data. Further, word-level classification using a combination of both acoustic and positional information is performed to study that the positional data acquired using significant sensors will boost the performance of classification even for severe dysarthric speakers.Originality/valueThe proposed work shows that the significant sensors and parameters can be used to assess dysfunctions in dysarthric speech effectively. The articulatory sensor data helps in better assessment than the acoustic data even for severe dysarthric speakers.

Assessment of dysarthric speech: a case for a combined perceptual and physiological approach

Traditionally, the assessment of dysarthric speech has mainly involved the use of perceptual evaluation measures. The inherent inadequacies of this method of assessment have resulted in the development of a range of instrumental assessment techniques to provide more objective analyses of the underlying physiological impairments of the speech apparatus in individuals with a dysarthric speech disturbance. The aim of the current study was to highlight the importance of a combined approach to the assessment of dysarthria with reference to two case studies of individuals with dysarthric speech: a 32-year-old adult who suffered a severe closed head injury and a nine-year-old child who experienced a cerebrovascular accident involving the basilar artery. Each subject was assessed using a battery of perceptual and physiological techniques. The results for each case indicated that instrumental measures were effective in identifying the severity and nature of the underlying physiological impairments in the various subsystems of the speech mechanism, and highlighted the importance of verifying perceptual judgements with instrumental measures. The results are discussed in relation to the value of a combined perceptual and physiological approach in determining an accurate evaluation and diagnosis of the dysarthric speech impairment and in defining appropriate treatment goals.

Assessment of dysarthric speech: a case for a combined perceptual and physiological approach

Assessment of dysarthric speech: a case for a combined perceptual and physiological approach

Intelligibility of dysarthric speech in words and sentences: development of a computerised assessment procedure in Swedish

This is a description of the construction of a Swedish quantitative and qualitative computerised intelligibility assessment of dysarthric speech including words and sentences. The Word section is based on minimal pairs in a multiple choice answering format (rhyme test). In the Sentence section, words are randomised into grammatically correct nonsense sentences. Ten normal speakers and nine speakers with different types and degrees of dysarthria participated in an evaluation made by three qualified clinicians. The results show that this assessment procedure gives a reliable quantitative measure of word and sentence intelligibility of dysarthric speech. However, low inter- and intrajudge agreement makes the qualitative results less reliable. Still, the qualitative results do give a valuable supplement to the quantitative data.

Intelligibility in acquired dysarthria— A neuro-phonetic approach: Three case studies

A descriptive framework of phonetic parameters for the assessment of dysarthric speech is presented. The phonetic parameters examined are based on a linguistic analysis of aspects of continuous speech. The assessment thus evaluates the functional efficiency of the speech producing mechanisms in encoding the spoken medium of language. The interaction of the deviant parameters is related to the breakdown of intelligibility. Possible underlying neurological correlates are discussed. The implications for therapy using the combined phonetic and neurological information are considered. This assessment procedure is illustrated with case studies of three types of acquired dysarthria.