Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications (MAVEBA) came into being in 1999 from the particularly felt need of sharing know-how, objectives and results between areas that until then seemed quite distinct such as bioengineering, medicine and singing. MAVEBA deals with all aspects concerning the study of the human voice with applications ranging from the newborn to the adult and elderly. Over the years the initial issues have grown and spread also in other fields of research such as occupational voice disorders, neurology, rehabilitation, image and video analysis. MAVEBA takes place every two years in Firenze, Italy. This edition celebrates twenty-two years of uninterrupted and successful research in the field of voice analysis

Pan European Voice Conference - PEVOC 11

The Pan European VOice Conference (PEVOC) was born in 1995 and therefore in 2015 it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its establishment: an important milestone that clearly expresses the strength and interest of the scientific community for the topics of this conference. The most significant themes of PEVOC are singing pedagogy and art, but also occupational voice disorders, neurology, rehabilitation, image and video analysis. PEVOC takes place in different European cities every two years (www.pevoc.org). The PEVOC 11 conference includes a symposium of the Collegium Medicorum Theatri (www.comet collegium.com

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications (MAVEBA) came into being in 1999 from the particularly felt need of sharing know-how, objectives and results between areas that until then seemed quite distinct such as bioengineering, medicine and singing. MAVEBA deals with all aspects concerning the study of the human voice with applications ranging from the neonate to the adult and elderly. Over the years the initial issues have grown and spread also in other aspects of research such as occupational voice disorders, neurology, rehabilitation, image and video analysis. MAVEBA takes place every two years always in Firenze, Italy. This edition celebrates twenty years of uninterrupted and succesfully research in the field of voice analysis

Accelerator-Based Vocal Tract Measurements

Clinical research seeks a voice monitoring device for everyday situations. This thesis in- vestigates the extraction of vocal tract information (VTI) from a portable, lightweight, and wireless voice accelerometer (ACC). An experiment recorded participants’ speech using two ACCs placed on the neck and cheek, comparing them to an acoustic microphone. The analysis focused on formant frequencies (FFs), inter-annotator agreement (IAA) for voice onset time (VOT), resistance to environmental noise, and accuracy of transcriptions using automatic speech recognition (ASR). FF extraction yielded unreliable and non-canonical vowel distributions. IAA showed agreement in voice onset between ACC and acoustic signal, but less for VOT start time and duration. Both placements resisted noise up to 85 dBA. However, ACC signals had a high Word error rate (WER), indicating poor recogni- tion. These findings suggest limited VTI extraction from ACC signals, requiring further improvements before reliable VTI recording devices can be developed

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The MAVEBA Workshop proceedings, held on a biannual basis, collect the scientific papers presented both as oral and poster contributions, during the conference. The main subjects are: development of theoretical and mechanical models as an aid to the study of main phonatory dysfunctions, as well as the biomedical engineering methods for the analysis of voice signals and images, as a support to clinical diagnosis and classification of vocal pathologies

VOice analysis with Iphones: a low Cost Experimental Solution

Background: Acoustic voice analysis requires a resource intensive setup, including a soundproof booth. This project evaluates smartphone microphone and recording environment impacts on voice sample collection for acoustic voice analysis. A proprietary analysis algorithm is presented for validation. Methods: Microphone and recording environment were evaluated using previously collected voice samples presented in four conditions to test two microphones and two recording environments. Prospective samples were used to test the proprietary algorithm, whereby samples were analyzed using this and Praat. Results: Microphone and recording environment had small, clinically unimportant impacts on most measurements. The proprietary algorithm reliably analyzed sustained vowels, with strong correlation to the Praat results. Continuous speech analysis was less reliable. Conclusion: Smartphone microphones are adequate for voice sample collection. Quiet, non-soundproof settings can be used for voice collection. The proprietary algorithm represents a reliable method to analyze sustained vowel samples. Some improvements are necessary before continuous speech analysis can be considered valid

VOCAL BIOMARKERS OF CLINICAL DEPRESSION: WORKING TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF DEPRESSION AND SPEECH

Speech output has long been considered a sensitive marker of a person’s mental state. It has been previously examined as a possible biomarker for diagnosis and treatment response for certain mental health conditions, including clinical depression. To date, it has been difficult to draw robust conclusions from past results due to diversity in samples, speech material, investigated parameters, and analytical methods. Within this exploratory study of speech in clinically depressed individuals, articulatory and phonatory behaviours are examined in relation to psychomotor symptom profiles and overall symptom severity. A systematic review provided context from the existing body of knowledge on the effects of depression on speech, and provided context for experimental setup within this body of work. Examinations of vowel space, monophthong, and diphthong productions as well as a multivariate acoustic analysis of other speech parameters (e.g., F0 range, perturbation measures, composite measures, etc.) are undertaken with the goal of creating a working model of the effects of depression on speech. Initial results demonstrate that overall vowel space area was not different between depressed and healthy speakers, but on closer inspection, this was due to more specific deficits seen in depressed patients along the first formant (F1) axis. Speakers with depression were more likely to produce centralised vowels along F1, as compared to F2—and this was more pronounced for low-front vowels, which are more complex given the degree of tongue-jaw coupling required for production. This pattern was seen in both monophthong and diphthong productions. Other articulatory and phonatory measures were inspected in a factor analysis as well, suggesting additional vocal biomarkers for consideration in diagnosis and treatment assessment of depression—including aperiodicity measures (e.g., higher shimmer and jitter), changes in spectral slope and tilt, and additive noise measures such as increased harmonics-to-noise ratio. Intonation was also affected by diagnostic status, but only for specific speech tasks. These results suggest that laryngeal and articulatory control is reduced by depression. Findings support the clinical utility of combining Ellgring and Scherer’s (1996) psychomotor retardation and social-emotional hypotheses to explain the effects of depression on speech, which suggest observed changes are due to a combination of cognitive, psycho-physiological and motoric mechanisms. Ultimately, depressive speech is able to be modelled along a continuum of hypo- to hyper-speech, where depressed individuals are able to assess communicative situations, assess speech requirements, and then engage in the minimum amount of motoric output necessary to convey their message. As speakers fluctuate with depressive symptoms throughout the course of their disorder, they move along the hypo-hyper-speech continuum and their speech is impacted accordingly. Recommendations for future clinical investigations of the effects of depression on speech are also presented, including suggestions for recording and reporting standards. Results contribute towards cross-disciplinary research into speech analysis between the fields of psychiatry, computer science, and speech science

Äänen arviointi uusien riskiryhmien keskuudessa : tutkimuskohteena orgaaniselle pölylle altistuvat työntekijät, lastentarhan opettajat sekä lapset, joille on tehty kurkunpään leikkauksia

Over the last decades, school teachers and singers have been more or less the focus of voice research, due to their specific occupational needs. Now, other population groups as well start to draw attention. These new groups include workers exposed to organic dusts in various workplaces with possible laryngeal reactions. The second group includes children operated on for subglottic stenosis with possible effects on voice and related quality of life. The third are nursery teachers insufficiently studied through field research for possible voice problems. This thesis aims to shed light on these newly emerging vulnerable groups in terms of assessing their voices through questionnaires, perceptual and acoustic voice assessment, and videolaryngoscopic examination. The thesis includes four studies. Nine subjects with suspected occupational rhinitis or asthma participated in Studies I and II. They had single blinded exposures to organic dust and placebo substances. Subjective and perceptual voice assessment was done in addition to acoustic analysis of 180 samples using glottal inverse filtering. In Study III, children s voices were perceptually assessed as well as their health- and voice-related quality of life. In Study IV, 119 female kindergarten teachers responded to a questionnaire on voice habits, voice symptoms, and impact of various working conditions on voice. In addition, videolaryngoscopy examinations took place in these teachers workplaces. Studies I and II showed that some self-assessed voice and throat symptoms changed significantly after organic dust exposure, although perceptual assessment failed to record these changes. However, inverse filtering analysis revealed changes that represent the ones reported by the subjects. In Study III, voice-related quality of life and perceptual assessment of the study group showed lower scores than the controls . Study IV showed that 71.5% of the teachers examined reported frequent strain on the voice. Organic findings were observed in 10.9% of the subjects and did not correlate with subjective voice symptoms. The thesis added new information on these high-risk groups, identifying an occupational voice-disorder risk group related to laryngeal reactions rather than voice abuse. It also added information on the long-term effects of surgery for subglottic stenosis in early infancy. Nevertheless, field videolaryngoscopy was quite accurate in determining the percentage of organic findings among nursery teachers.Ääni on ihmiskunnan tärkein kommunikaatioväline, jota käytetään jatkuvasti aamusta iltaan. Ääniammateissa toimii jopa kolmannes yhteiskunnan työvoimasta, kuten opettajat, laulajat ja lakimiehet. Viime vuosikymmeninä opettajat ja laulajat ovat olleet äänitutkimusten keskiössä, mutta on myös muita väestöryhmiä, jotka alkavat herättää tutkijoiden huomiota mahdollisista ääniongelmista kärsiessään. Tämän tutkimuksen lähtökohtana oli kiinnostus näitä uusia riskiryhmiä sekä heidän ääniongelmiensa arviointia kohtaan. Väitöskirjaa varten tutkittiin kolmea uutta riskiryhmää, jotka ovat: 1) työntekijät, joille orgaanisen pölyn altistus aiheuttaa ääniongelmia, 2) lapset, joille on tehty kurkunpään leikkauksia varhaislapsuudessa ääniraon alapuolisen ahtauman vuoksi, ja 3) lastentarhan opettajat, joita ei ole tutkittu riittävästi kenttätutkimuksessa eli heidän työpaikoillaan. Väitöskirjan tutkimuksissa käytettiin erilaisia äänen tutkimusmenetelmiä: tavallisia tutkimusmenetelmiä, kuten kyselylomakkeita, mutta myös harvinaisempia, osaltaan hyvin uusia tutkimusmenetelmiä, kuten akustista analyysia käänteissuodatuksella. Käänteissuodatuksessa mitattiin äänenmuodostumista äänihuulten tasolla. Kurkunpään tähystys tehtiin kannettavalla videojärjestelmällä lastentarhan opettajien työpaikoilla. Väitöskirja koostuu neljästä kansainvälisessä lehdessä julkaistusta artikkelista, joissa käsitellään kolmen aiemmin mainittujen riskiryhmien tutkimuksia. Orgaaniselle pölylle altistuvat työntekijät kärsivät mahdollisesti työpaikkaan liittyvästä äänihäiriöstä, joka johtuu kurkunpään reaktiosta, ei äänenkäytöstä. Työntekijät tiedostavat äänensä muuttuneen, mutta silti muutos jää huomaamatta kuulon aistivaraisessa tutkimuksessa eli lääkäreiden korvissa. Akustinen analyysi käänteissuodatuksen menetelmällä on todennut nämä muutokset. Korvakuulolla huomaamatta jäävien äänimuutosten toteaminen akustisesti on hyvin harvinainen ja lupaava tulos. Toinen tutkittu ryhmä olivat lapset, jotka on leikattu äänihuulten alapuolisen ahtauman vuoksi. Tutkimuksen tuloksena todettiin operatiivisen hoidon vaikuttavan pitkällä tähtäimellä äänen kuulon aistivaraiseen laatuun heikentävästi terveisiin lapsiin verrattuna. Tämän lisäksi ääneen liittyvä elämänlaatu on alhaisempi leikatuilla lapsilla. Kolmantena riskiryhmänä tutkimuksessa olivat lastentarhan opettajat. Tutkimus osoitti, että 71,5 % tutkituista opettajista ilmoitti kärsivänsä toistuvasta äänen rasituksesta. Tämän lisäksi äänihuulten orgaaniset muutokset todettiin 10.9 %:lla opettajista. Väitöskirjan tutkimus on tuottanut merkittävää tietoa uusista riskiryhmistä

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The MAVEBA Workshop proceedings, held on a biannual basis, collect the scientific papers presented both as oral and poster contributions, during the conference. The main subjects are: development of theoretical and mechanical models as an aid to the study of main phonatory dysfunctions, as well as the biomedical engineering methods for the analysis of voice signals and images, as a support to clinical diagnosis and classification of vocal pathologies