Cepstral Spectral Index Of Dysphonia Research Articles

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment in Recalcitrant, Bilateral Phono-traumatic Lesions

ObjectiveMature vocal fold nodules and fibrous phono-traumatic lesions that have failed standard voice therapy can be challenging. Autologous Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is rich in growth factors and easily obtained from a simple blood draw. Growth factor injection into the vocal folds may reverse the scar and inflammation in recalcitrant, bilateral phono-traumatic lesions such as mature vocal fold nodules. This study reports the short-term (3 months) voice results after PRP injection in 11 subjects with recalcitrant, bilateral phono-traumatic lesions that have failed voice therapy. Materials and MethodsSerial autologous PRP injections were used to treat eleven patients with recalcitrant, bilateral phono-traumatic lesions in an office setting. All had prior conservative voice therapy or surgery and were deemed failures. Pre and post-treatment video stroboscopy, Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10), and Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) before and after treatment (3 months) were tabulated and compared. An expert rater blinded to the treatment condition rated the stroboscopy and voice results. ResultsAt three months post injection, nine of the eleven patients reported improved VHI-10 and noted sustained voice improvement after PRP injections. Median VHI-10 changed from 20 to 13 (p<.05 paired t-test). The CSID scores changed from 17 to 5 (NS p>.05, paired t-test). Nine of eleven patients reported improved vocal effort and stamina. Stroboscopy ratings were better after treatment than before treatment in 7 of the 11 subjects. ConclusionShort-term improvements in voice may occur in patients with recalcitrant, bilateral phono-traumatic lesions following PRP injection. PRP injections into the vocal folds may be a new treatment for non-surgical intervention in patients with recalcitrant, bilateral phono-traumatic lesions. Level of EvidenceII

Platelet-rich plasma in treatment of scar, atrophy, and sulcus: Short- and long-term results.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is rich in growth factors and is easily obtained from blood samples. Long-term data after PRP injection into the larynx should be improved. This study reports the short-term (3 months) and long-term (12 months) voice results after PRP injection. Sixty-three patients with scars (n = 34), sulcus vocalis (n = 17), recalcitrant nodules (n = 5), atrophy (n = 4), or a combination of these (n = 3) were included (158 injections; median follow-up = 12.3 months). Stroboscopy, voice handicap index (VHI-10), and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia (CSID) before and after treatment (3 months) and at 12 months were tabulated. VHI-10 changed from 19.5 to 14 at 3 months and 21 to 15 in the long term. The CSID scores improved from 31 to 21 in the short term and 31 to 26 in the long term (p < 0.001, paired t-test). Patients reported improved vocal effort and stamina with slight VHI or CSID score changes. Stroboscopy revealed improved closure and mucosal waves. Patients with severe dysphonia were less likely to improve compared to those with mild to moderate dysphonia. Some patients showed short-term improvements and then deteriorated back to baseline CSID over time (p < .05, paired t-test). Both short- and long-term improvements in voice following PRP injection have been reported. Patients with mild-to-moderate dysphonia had better outcomes. PRP injection is an alternative treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate dysphonia due to vocal fold scarring, sulcus, and atrophy. II Prospective case series treatment.

A comparative study of the vocal parameters between hypofunctional and hyperfunctional dysphonia using perceptual and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia measures

Background: The main goal of the present study was to obtain the cepstral spectral index of dysphonia (CSID) scores for normophonic, hypo-functional dysphonic and hyper-functional dysphonic Indian population along with correlation of CSID and GRBAS scores for normophonic, hypo-functional dysphonic and hyper-functional dysphonic population using sustained production of vowel and oral passage of Bengali language. Methods: A total of 60 participants between 20-50 years were selected for the study. The participants were divided into three groups viz., 30 normal subjects, 15 subjects with hypofunctional dysphonia and 15 subjects with hyperfunctional dysphonia. The subjects were screened for speech and hearing defects. Recordings of sustained vowels and passage were done and then fed to measure CSID through PRAAT and software developed by C-DAC. Statistical analyses were done for the analyzed data using SPSS. Results: Significant differences (p&lt;0.05) were found in CSID scores across hypofunctional dysphonia group and hyperfunctional dysphonia group when compared to normophonia group. There were no significant differences (p&gt;0.05) between hypofunctional and hyperfunctional dysphonia group in CSID score. A significantly strong correlation of CSID scores with the ‘G’ rating of GRBAS scores (p&lt;0.01) were found for both hypofunctional dysphonia and hyperfunctional dysphonia groups. ROC analysis showed high sensitivity and specificity of CSID scores in two dysphonia groups with respect to normophonia group. Conclusions: The current study revealed significant differences obtained in CSID scores across normophonia, hypofunctional dysphonia and hyperfunctional dysphonia groups suggesting it as assessment tool to determine the presence of dysphonia.

Smartphone Recordings are Comparable to “Gold Standard” Recordings for Acoustic Measurements of Voice

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess the relationship and comparability of cepstral and spectral measures of voice obtained from a high-cost “flat” microphone and precision sound level meter (SLM) vs. high-end and entry level models of commonly and currently used smartphones (iPhone i12 and iSE; Samsung s21 and s9 smartphones). Device comparisons were also conducted in different settings (sound-treated booth vs. typical “quiet” office room) and at different mouth-to-microphone distances (15 and 30 cm). MethodsThe SLM and smartphone devices were used to record a series of speech and vowel samples from a prerecorded diverse set of 24 speakers representing a wide range of sex, age, fundamental frequency (F0), and voice quality types. Recordings were analyzed for the following measures: smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPP in dB); the low vs high spectral ratio (L/H Ratio in dB); and the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID). ResultsA strong device effect was observed for L/H Ratio (dB) in both vowel and sentence contexts and for CSID in the sentence context. In contrast, device had a weak effect on CPP (dB), regardless of context. Recording distance was observed to have a small-to-moderate effect on measures of CPP and CSID but had a negligible effect on L/H Ratio. With the exception of L/H Ratio in the vowel context, setting was observed to have a strong effect on all three measures. While these aforementioned effects resulted in significant differences between measures obtained with SLM vs. smartphone devices, the intercorrelations of the measurements were extremely strong (r's > 0.90), indicating that all devices were able to capture the range of voice characteristics represented in the voice sample corpus. Regression modeling showed that acoustic measurements obtained from smartphone recordings could be successfully converted to comparable measurements obtained by a "gold standard" (precision SLM recordings conducted in a sound-treated booth at 15 cm) with small degrees of error. ConclusionsThese findings indicate that a variety of commonly available modern smartphones can be used to collect high quality voice recordings usable for informative acoustic analysis. While device, setting, and distance can have significant effects on acoustic measurements, these effects are predictable and can be accounted for using regression modeling.

Auditory-perceptual Parameters as Predictors of Voice Acoustic Measures

Much research has examined the relationship between perceptual and acoustic measures. However, little is known about the prediction values of perceptual measures on an acoustic parameter. This study utilized simulated and disordered voice samples to investigate the prediction values of breathiness, roughness, and strain ratings on the selection of some time-based and spectral-based measures of voice quality. This study retrospectively analysed two sets of precollected data. The experimental data had been collected from nine trained speakers manipulating false vocal fold activity, true vocal fold mass, and larynx height. The voice-disordered data had been extracted from a clinical database for 68 patients with muscle tension voice disorders (MTVD). Both data sets had been perceptually rated for breathiness, roughness, and strain. Voice samples (prolonged vowel /ɑ/ and Rainbow Passage readings) had undergone acoustic analysis using Praat for harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR) and the program "Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice" (ADSV) for cepstral peak prominence (CPP), Cepstral/Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID), and Low/High spectral ratio (L/H ratio). Perceptual parameters were regressed against these acoustic measures to test their prediction values. Reliability data showed satisfactory intra- and inter-reliability of perceptual ratings for both data sets. Breathiness significantly predicted CPP (both vocal tasks) and CSID (Rainbow Passage) in experimental data and predicted all the acoustic measures in MTVD data. Roughness significantly predicted HNR, CPP, and CSID in experimental data, and CPP (Rainbow Passage) and CSID (both vocal tasks) in MTVD data. Strain (both vocal tasks) significantly predicted L/H ratio in both data sets. Breathiness ratings predicted selection of HNR, CPP and CSID; roughness ratings predicted selection of CPP and CSID, and strain ratings predicted L/H ratio.

Investigation of the Cepstral Spectral Acoustic Analysis for Classifying the Severity of Dysphonia

The advantages of cepstral measurements in the evaluation of dysphonia have been noted in previous studies. However, there is an unclarity regarding the results of cepstral analyzes effect in determining the severity of dysphonia. The aims of this study were to determine the cut-off values of cepstral peak prominence, cepstral peak prominence standard deviation, low frequency/ high frequency ratio, low frequency/high frequency ratio standard deviation, and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia for predicting the voice severity within a Turkish speaking population, as well as to confirm the discriminative power of these cut-off values. One hundred ninety-five individuals with voice disorders and an equal number of age and gender-matched individuals without voice disorders were included. Included subjects had visited the Hacettepe University Hospitals Speech and Language Therapy Department for voice evaluation between January 2017 and September 2021. The voice recordings from all participants included the six CAPE-V/Turkish sentences and sustained vowel /a/. Three raters provided auditory perceptual ratings of the voice samples using the GRBAS scale (grade) and overall severity for the CAPE-V/Turkish. Participants were categorized into normal and mild, moderate, and severely dysphonic groups based on the auditory perceptual evaluation. Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice (ADSV) software was used for cepstral spectral acoustic analysis. In the sustained vowel context, the area under the curve (ROC) for the CSID value was >0.8, except for mild vs. moderate dysphonia groups. In connected speech contexts, the ROC of the CPP value was also >0.8, except for normal vs. mild dysphonia groups. The cut-off values of CPP and CSID demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for predicting voice severities. The cut-off values for the parameters that predicted voice severities showed a significant degree of discriminative power for categorizing voice severities among Turkish-speaking people.

Phonation Threshold Pressure as a Unique Outcome Measure of Phonatory Physiology Changes Following Submucosal Saline Injection for Vocal Fold Scarring

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the utility of phonation threshold pressure (PTP) measurement as an additional outcome measure for changes in vocal fold vibration secondary to submucosal saline injection in the case of an individual with idiopathic vocal fold scarring. Method: An 8-week program of voice therapy, followed by submucosal saline infusion, was administered, using multiple outcome measures to assess voice quality, effort, and function in a 38-year-old woman with idiopathic bilateral vocal fold scarring. Transoral rigid video-endoscopy with stroboscopy in conjunction with the Stroboscopy Evaluation Rating Form provided measures of the vibratory characteristics of the vocal folds (amplitude, mucosal wave, nonvibratory portion, edge smoothness, and straightness). Auditory-perceptual measures were obtained using the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice. Acoustic measures included jitter (%local), shimmer (%local), harmonics-to-noise ratio (dB), and Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia. Additionally, PTP was measured 1 day prior to, and 1 month after, saline infusion. Results: Acoustic, auditory-perceptual, and stroboscopic variables suggested minimal change to the vibratory properties of the vocal folds in response to submucosal saline infusion for the treatment of vocal fold scarring. PTP measurements across the patient's frequency range, however, revealed a marked decrease post infusion. This was consistent with the patient's report of improved functioning and her request for repeat saline infusion. Conclusion: These results are consistent with the possibility of using PTP as an independent means of quantifying changes in phonatory physiology across the frequency range in patients with vocal fold scarring. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21313725

Voice After Cordectomy Type I or Type II or Radiation Therapy for Large T1a Glottic Cancer.

T1a glottic cancer can be treated with transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) or radiation therapy (RT). Dysphonia is the major disadvantage of TLM, and preservation of voice appears to be the best advantage of RT compared to TLM. Studies on voice outcomes of both options gave conflicting results, but there is a tendency toward better voice outcome after TLM compared to the past. Nonrandomized retrospective cohort study. Tertiary referral center. In total, 172 patients with a cancer lesion involving more than two-thirds of 1 membranous vocal fold underwent cordectomy type I (n = 56) (C1 group) or type II (n = 59) (C2 group) or RT (n = 57) (RT group). GRBASI (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain, instability), videolaryngostroboscopy, Voice Handicap Index-30, acoustic analysis including F0, jitter, shimmer, noise to harmonic ratio, cepstral peak prominence, and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia using running speech, and aerodynamic analysis were performed before treatment and 6 and 24 months after treatment. Study groups did not differ significantly on pretreatment voice outcomes (P > .05). The RT group had significantly better voice outcomes at 6 months posttreatment compared to the C1 and C2 groups (P < .05). The C1 group had significantly better voice outcomes at 6 months posttreatment compared to the C2 group (P < .05). The C1 group had significantly better voice outcomes at 24 months posttreatment compared to the RT and C2 groups (P < .05). The RT and C2 groups did not differ significantly at 24 months posttreatment (P > .05). Voice outcomes after C2 are equal to RT. C1 has better voice outcomes than RT. C1 and C2 can be the treatment of choice for large T1a glottic cancers.

Detection of speech pathology based on parameters of analysis of dysphonia in speech and voice

Objective:To analysis speech pathology based on dysphonia in speech and voice（ADSV）. Methods:The acoustic signals of continuous vowels and continuous speech of one-hundred and thirteen individuals were collected, including 93 vocal cord polyps cases, 20 glottis laryngeal carcinoma cases and 47 volunteers without speech sound disorders. Cepstral peak prominence（CPP）, CPP standard deviation（CPP SD）, L/H spectral ratio（L/H ratio）, L/H ratio standard deviation（L/H ratio SD） and cepstral/spectral index of dysphonia（CSID） were analyzed by ADSV to explore the role of these parameters in the recognition of speech pathology. Results:In the acoustic signal of continuous vowels, CPP and L/H ratio in normal group were higher than those in pathological voice group（P<0.001）, while CPP SD and CSID were lower than those in pathological voice group（P<0.001）, CPP and CSID areas under ROC curve were 0.95 and 0.99, respectively, which were important acoustic parameters for diagnosing pathological voice. In continuous speech acoustic signals, CPP, CPP SD and L/H ratio in the normal group were all higher than those in the speech disorders group（P<0.001）, and the area under the curve of CPP SD was 0.90, which showed high accuracy in diagnosing pathological voice. The ADSV voice analysis parameters CPP, CPP SD, CSID, and L/H ratio also showed significant differences between the vocal cord polyp group and the glottic laryngeal cancer group. The results of the discriminant analysis model show that the use of ADSV voice parameters can distinguish vocal cord polyps and laryngeal cancers. Conclusion:The ADSV voice analysis parameters can not only distinguish the voice signals of the normal group and the pathological group, but also distinguish different types of pathological voices. It has high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing pathological voices.

Reliability of Acoustic Measures in Dysphonic Patients With Glottic Insufficiency and Healthy Population: A COVID-19 Perspective

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected the voice assessment protocols for dysphonic patients. In this study, we compared the changes in acoustic measures of the healthy population as well as dysphonic patients due to glottic insufficiency between the pandemic period requiring face masks and the prepandemic period when the masks were not essential. The clinical reliability of the acoustic measures with and without face masks was explored.MethodsA total of 120 patients (age = 42.3 ± 11.9 yrs) with glottic insufficiencies such as UVFP and sulcus vocalis and 40 healthy population (age = 40.5 ± 11.2 yrs) cohorts were enrolled during the pandemic period. Age- and gender-matched 120 patients and 40 healthy population cohorts who underwent voice assessment without face masks before the pandemic were enrolled as prepandemic controls. Acoustic measures and overall severity estimates of vowel and speech samples were compared, which included cepstral peak prominence (CPP), L/H spectral ratio (SR), their standard deviations, F0, jitter percent (Jitt), shimmer percent (Shim), noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID), and Acoustic Psychometric Severity Index of Dysphonia.ResultsBoth patients and healthy cohorts showed higher SRv and SRs but lower CSIDv during the pandemic compared to the prepandemic period. F0 of the healthy male controls during the pandemic was higher than during the prepandemic periods, while the CSIDs was lower for the pandemic period. The pandemic patient cohort showed lower σSRs compared to the prepandemic patient cohort. When the acoustic measures of patients were compared to the healthy population cohort, the patient cohort showed lower CPP and σCPPs, while higher σCPPv, Jitt, Shim, and NHR during both pandemic and prepandemic period. Overall, the area under the curve of the acoustic measures and overall severity estimates was similar between the mask and non-mask groups, although the AUC of the SR measures was poor.ConclusionsWearing face masks during the pandemic did not compromise the overall reliability of the acoustic analysis in patients with glottic insufficiency, suggesting the current protocol of acoustic analysis can be carried out reliably while wearing a mask to ensure safety in the pandemic era.

Clinician and Patient Perception of a Voice Therapy Program Utilizing a Variably Occluded Face Mask: A Pilot Study

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to assess clinician and patient feedback about voice therapy using a variably occluded face mask (VOFM) and to determine if voice therapy augmented via a VOFM would result in favorable changes in patient self-perceived handicap, as well as acoustic and aerodynamic measures. Methods/Design: This pilot study used a prospective, pre-post single group design. Eleven patients with dysphonia due to primary muscle tension dysphonia (8) or benign vocal fold lesions (3) were recruited. Data collected included patient and clinician feedback of voice therapy using a VOFM, voice handicap index (VHI)-10, acoustic and aerodynamic measures. Data were collected before treatment (baseline) and 1-week post-therapy. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare data pre- and post-therapy. Results: Statistically significant improvement was observed for the VHI-10 with a median delta of −7. Clinician feedback generally reported that patients liked the VOFM, using the VOFM within the first two sessions of therapy, and within less than 10 min of use. All clinicians ranked the conversation level of the hierarchy as the most effective level. Three themes emerged from the Therapy Feedback Form: the VOFM was a (1) “Facilitator for Sensation,” (2) a “Physical Tool,” and that there was (3) “No Program Needed” to use the VOFM in voice therapy. There was a statistically significant improvement in cepstral peak prominence (p = 0.0329) and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia (p = 0.0164) in sustained vowels. Discussion: This pilot study represents the first investigation into clinician and patient perceptions of using a VOFM. Reported measures via patient perception, as well as clinician perceptions, and some acoustic and aerodynamic measures showed that participants got better with VOFM voice therapy. Last, in general, both clinicians and patients liked utilizing a VOFM in voice therapy.

Long-Term Voice Outcomes After Type I, Type II, or Type V Cordectomy.

We compare long-term voice outcomes in patients treated with European Laryngeal Society (ELS) classification Type I, Type II, or Type V cordectomy. The aim is to understand the impact of Type V cordectomy on voice outcomes in relation to Type I and Type II cordectomy. A retrospective review of patients treated with Type I, Type II, or Type V cordectomy by a single surgeon over a 20-year period was performed. Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) scores, Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) measures from CAPE-V sentences, and two-rater GRBAS scores were analyzed. Sixty-two patients were identified with a mean follow-up of 52 months. Of these, there were 43 Type I and 19 Type II cordectomies, including 8 in each group with Type V resections. Significant differences in all parameters were noted between the Type I (VHI 5.7, CSID 20.6, Grade 1.3) and the Type II cohorts (VHI 12.6, CSID 36.3, Grade 1.8) who did not undergo Type V cordectomy. Patients undergoing Type V cordectomy demonstrated voice outcomes (VHI 9.4, CSID 35.6, Grade 1.7) which fell between those of Type I and Type II cordectomies. Better long-term subjective, objective, and computer-analyzed voice outcomes are noted for patients undergoing Type I rather than Type II cordectomy. When Type V cordectomy is performed, voice outcomes are comparable to those of both Type I and Type II cordectomy, a surprising finding given the expectation of worsened dysphonia in longer resections. Further work is needed to explain this finding and define voice outcomes after Type V cordectomy.

The Effect of Microphone Frequency Response on Spectral and Cepstral Measures of Voice: An Examination of Low-Cost Electret Headset Microphones.

The purpose of this study was to establish the frequency response of a selection of low-cost headset microphones that could be given to subjects for remote voice recordings and to examine the effect of microphone type and frequency response on key acoustic measures related to voice quality obtained from speech and vowel samples. The frequency responses of three low-cost headset microphones were evaluated using pink noise generated via a head-and-torso model. Each of the headset microphones was then used to record a series of speech and vowel samples prerecorded from 24 speakers who represented a diversity of sex, age, fundamental frequency (F o), and voice quality types. Recordings were later analyzed for the following measures: smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPP; dB), low versus high spectral ratio (L/H ratio; dB), CPP F o (Hz), and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia (CSID). The frequency response of the microphones under test was observed to have nonsignificant effects on measures of the CPP and CPP F o, significant effects on the CSID in speech contexts, and strong and significant effects on the measure of spectral tilt (L/H ratio). However, the correlations between the various headset microphones and a reference precision microphone were excellent (rs > .90). The headset microphones under test all showed the capability to track a wide range of diversity in the voice signal. Though the use of higher quality microphones that have demonstrated specifications is recommended for typical research and clinical purposes, low-cost electret microphones may be used to provide valid measures of voice, specifically when the same microphone and signal chain is used for the evaluation of pre- versus posttreatment change or intergroup comparisons.

Singing In The Mask: Effects Of A Variably Occluded Face Mask On Singing

A limitation of traditional semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTE) is the single sustained vowel task that precludes co-articulated singing. This study investigated immediate effects of a variably occluded face mask (VOFM) on vocal effort, acoustic, and aerodynamic measures in sung low and high pitches of healthy singers. Single-group, pre-post intervention study. The outlet ports of disposable anesthesia facemasks were fitted with plastic caps with two drilled openings sizes (9.6 mm, 6.4 mm). Twenty-three singers with no voice complaints provided baseline vocal effort, acoustic, and aerodynamic measures in high and low pitches. Participants trained in four conditions: two VOFM sizes (9.6 mm, 6.4 mm) in combination with the 20th and 80th percentile of the singer's pitch range. Participants were trained on three phonatory tasks: repeated consonant/vowel syllables, sung sentence, and sustained vowel. Vocal effort before and after training was compared using a visual-analog scale, while standardized mean differences captured acoustic and aerodynamic changes before and after training. Participants reported decreased vocal effort after VOFM training at all occlusion and pitch combinations. On average, consistent beneficial effect sizes were found in cepstral peak prominence (CPP) and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia (CSID) for all 4 occlusion-pitch combinations, and vocal intensity and mean estimated subglottal pressure increased for all 4 occlusion-pitch training combinations. Changes in mean phonatory airflow and resistance were less consistent. There was an immediate effect of decreased vocal effort in singing after VOFM training. Acoustic and aerodynamic effects were variable and modest. Future studies should explore changes in these outcomes after VOFM in singing voice therapy.

Cognitive Mechanisms in Pediatric Voice Therapy – An Initial Examination

IntroductionVoice disorders are a common communication disorder in children. Behavioral voice therapy is recommended by both Otolaryngologists and Speech-Language Pathologists as a first-line approach for treatment of benign vocal fold lesions that affect children in large numbers. However, the role of cognitive mechanisms critical to voice therapy have not yet been explored. ObjectiveThis proof-of-concept study aims to provide preliminary data on the potential relation between cognitive abilities and behavioral results of voice therapy for children with benign phonotraumatic vocal fold lesions. MethodsSix children (4;05 –9;02 years) diagnosed with vocal fold nodules completed a battery of cognitive tests from the NEuroPSYchological (NEPSY-II) Assessment and a standard course of “Adventures in Voice” therapy. Recordings pre and post intervention were analyzed acoustically using the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) and perceptually using visual analog scales (VAS) for severity and resonance separately. Raw and age-corrected scaled scores from the NEPSY-II were then examined for their possible relation to voice outcomes. ResultsMultiple cognitive functions correlated with voice outcomes. Raw score measures for Design Fluency, Inhibition, Fingertip Tapping, and Narrative Memory correlated favorably with all voice outcome measures. Age correlated with all NEPSY-II raw scores and perceptual voice outcome measures. Scaled scores for Auditory Attention, Design Fluency, Fingertip Tapping (Dominant hand), and Narrative Memory correlated with all voice outcome measures. ConclusionResults suggest that there is merit to further investigation of the relation between cognitive skills and their development and voice treatment outcomes in children with benign phonotraumatic lesions. Future studies with larger samples will build on present findings.

The cepstral spectral index of dysphonia, the acoustic voice quality index and the acoustic breathiness index as novel multiparametric indices for acoustic assessment of voice quality.

The objective assessment of voice quality using acoustic measures is an important pillar of voice diagnostics. This article reviews three recent acoustic measures and their clinical use in phoniatrics and laryngology. Two acoustic parameters, the cepstral spectral index of dysphonia (CSID) and the acoustic voice quality index (AVQI), have gained importance as validated multiparametric indices in the objective assessment of hoarseness because they include both continuous speech and sustained vowels. The acoustic breathiness index (ABI), another multiparametric index, assesses breathiness admixture during phonation and identifies it robustly, unaffected by other characteristics of dysphonia such as roughness. Acoustic measurements are useful diagnostic tools when used correctly with an appropriate recording system, consideration of environment and use of software programs. CSID, AVQI and ABI objectively improve the detection of voice quality abnormalities. In addition to their proven validity, their application is simple and their usability for clinicians is high.

Spectral/cepstral analyses of connected speech in parkinson’s disease as compared with sustained phonation before and after voice treatment

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT&lt;sup&gt;®&lt;/sup&gt;LOUD) on selected spectral/cepstral measures of voice in connected speech. Spectral/cepstral analyses also were used to descriptively compare changes in connected speech to those previously reported in sustained vowels. An additional goal was to examine individual differences in responses to LSVT across the spectral/cepstral measures.Methods: Nine adult participants with PD were examined in a pre/post treatment design. Speech recordings were obtained on three different days within one week before and one week after LSVT. Speech recordings were analyzed for cepstral peak prominence (CPP), CPP Standard Deviation (CPP-SD), Low/High Spectral Ratio (L/H SR), and Cepstral/Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) using the Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice (ADSV) program.Results: CPP and CSID were the only measures that detect treatment-related changes in connected speech. Investigating individual differences demonstrated more participants exhibiting an improvement in sustained phonation than in connected speech.Conclusions: Cepstral/spectral measures have been shown to be valid measures for estimating dysphonia severity in both continuous speech and sustained vowels. In addition, it extends the use of the cepstral/spectral measures for characterizing speech and voice aspects prior to treatment and for quantifying treatment outcomes. Moreover, it supports the use of LSVT as a treatment approach for improving voice quality in addition to intensity in PD.

The Impact of Vocal Task on Voice Acoustics, Effort and Discomfort Following Submandibular Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in Healthy Adults

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) offers a potential adjuvant to traditional voice therapy for individuals with dysphonia. The type of vocal task to implement in conjunction with electrical stimulation to achieve maximal therapeutic benefit is unknown. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the impact of tasks on voice outcomes. Nineteen vocally-healthy adult females, between 23 and 27 years of age (Ave: 23.8, SD: 1.13), participated in the study. 15 participants completed all three 30-minute sessions, and four completed at least one session. NMES was paired with three different voice conditions: high-pitched hum, low-pitched hum, and comfortable-pitched hum. Acoustic (average fundamental frequency and loudness; perturbation (jitter, shimmer, noise to harmonic ratio); Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia; pitch range), perceived phonatory effort, and discomfort (delayed onset muscle soreness) measures were compared across conditions. Eight participants experienced discomfort following NMES. Three participants withdrew from the study due to discomfort, and one withdrew due to an unrelated oral surgery. NMES paired with high-pitch humming resulted in increased average fundamental frequency during sustained phonation and reading tasks, and increased Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia during sustained phonation. Low-pitch humming resulted in a decreased noise to harmonic ratio. No statistically significant changes in perceived phonatory effort were noted. Almost half of the participants reported temporary discomfort. Task-specific differences in some outcomes were noted indicating that the nature of voice task performed with NMES must be considered when examining the impact of NMES on voice. Vocal tasks can impact discomfort and acoustic vocal outcomes of NMES.

Voice Quality and Laryngeal Findings in Patients With Suspected Lung Cancer

Objective To describe laryngeal findings and voice quality in patients with suspected lung cancer, relative to voice quality and possible laryngeal pathology. Study Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary care center. Methods Patients with known or suspected lung cancer were approached before planned thoracic surgery, and they completed acoustic analysis, the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) questionnaire, and stroboscopy. The prevalence of dysphonia, V-RQOL and Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID) scores, and laryngeal findings were examined and compared between patients ultimately found to have lung cancer and those without cancer. Results Sixty-one patients (45 cancer, 16 noncancer) were analyzed. Patients with cancer were older than those without (mean ± SD, 72.3 ± 9.94 vs 62.6 ± 9.30 years; P = .001). Otherwise, the distribution of stroboscopy findings, acoustic measures, and self-reported voice handicap were similar between the cancer and noncancer cohorts. Prior to surgery, no patients had vocal cord paralysis or obvious neoplasm, though 4 (6.56%) had leukoplakia and 28 (45.9%) had vocal fold movement asymmetry on stroboscopy. Overall, 21 patients (35.0%) had average CSID scores &gt;19, and 13 (21.7%) had CSID scores &gt;24; however, only 4 self-described their voice as not working as it should, and only 2 had a V-RQOL score &lt;85. Conclusion Patients with suspected lung cancer have moderate dysphonia on acoustic measures, though self-reported impact on quality of life is low. While leukoplakia was seen in 4 patients, obvious neoplasm and occult paralysis were not seen in this cohort. Together, these findings suggest that patients with suspected lung cancer should be assessed for subjective voice dysfunction, but routine laryngeal screening may otherwise be unnecessary.

Short-Term Voice Improvement after Repeated Office-Based Platelet-Rich Plasma PRP Injection in Patients with Vocal Fold Scar, Sulcus, and Atrophy

Improving the voice of patients with vocal atrophy, scar, and sulcus vocalis remains challenging. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous biological suitable for regenerative medicine. Office-based injections of PRP may serve as a source of improved wound healing. Thirty two office based injections of PRP were performed in 14 patients with scar, sulcus, and vocal atrophy (12 scars, 1 sulcus, and 1 atrophy). PRP was prepared using 20 cc blood draw and double centrifugation method. Injection laryngoplasty was performed using trans cervical or indirect trans oral technique (10 trans cervical, 22 trans-oral). Volume of PRP use was 0.5-0.7 cc per side. Injections varied from 1 to 3 injections at monthly intervals. Videostroboscopy, Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10), and an objective analysis of the voice using Cepstral Peak Prominence (Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia) were recorded. An expert rater speech pathologist rated the audio and stroboscopy results. Median follow-up was 15 months. No patients were made worse. The mean VHI-10 before the injection was 23. VHI-10 after the injection was 12.5 (P < 0.01). The mean Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia score for CAPE-V sentence was 42.5 before the injection and 23.5 (P < 0.01) after the injection. The expert rater thought the post treatment was better (9/14 acoustic, 10/14 stroboscopy). Eleven of the 14 patients thought the intervention was worthwhile to repeat. The other 3 patients thought the improvement was transient. Office PRP injection into the vocal fold of patients with scar, sulcus, and atrophy may result in short term voice improvements. It is a biological worth considering.