Models and analysis of vocal emissions for biomedical applications: 5th International Workshop: December 13-15, 2007, Firenze, Italy

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. The Workshop has the sponsorship of: Ente Cassa Risparmio di Firenze, COST Action 2103, Biomedical Signal Processing and Control Journal (Elsevier Eds.), IEEE Biomedical Engineering Soc. Special Issues of International Journals have been, and will be, published, collecting selected papers from the conference

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

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

Models and analysis of vocal emissions for biomedical applications

This book of Proceedings collects the papers presented at the 4th International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications, MAVEBA 2005, held 29-31 October 2005, Firenze, Italy. The workshop is organised every two years, and aims to stimulate contacts between specialists active in research and industrial developments, in the area of voice analysis for biomedical applications. The scope of the Workshop includes all aspects of voice modelling and analysis, ranging from fundamental research to all kinds of biomedical applications and related established and advanced technologies

Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications

The Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions with Biomedical Applications (MAVEBA) workshop 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

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

A Review of the Assessment Methods of Voice Disorders in the Context of Parkinson's Disease

In recent years, a significant progress in the field of research dedicated to the treatment of disabilities has been witnessed. This is particularly true for neurological diseases, which generally influence the system that controls the execution of learned motor patterns. In addition to its importance for communication with the outside world and interaction with others, the voice is a reflection of our personality, moods and emotions. It is a way to provide information on health status, shape, intentions, age and even the social environment. It is also a working tool for many, but an important element of life for all. Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are numerous and they suffer from hypokinetic dysarthria, which is manifested in all aspects of speech production: respiration, phonation, articulation, nasalization and prosody. This paper provides a review of the methods of the assessment of speech disorders in the context of PD and also discusses the limitations

Models and analysis of vocal emissions for biomedical applications

This book of Proceedings collects the papers presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications, MAVEBA 2003, held 10-12 December 2003, Firenze, Italy. The workshop is organised every two years, and aims to stimulate contacts between specialists active in research and industrial developments, in the area of voice analysis for biomedical applications. The scope of the Workshop includes all aspects of voice modelling and analysis, ranging from fundamental research to all kinds of biomedical applications and related established and advanced technologies

Envelhecimento vocal: estudo acústico-articulatório das alterações de fala com a idade

Background: Although the aging process causes specific alterations in the speech organs, the knowledge about the age effects in speech production is still disperse and incomplete. Objective: To provide a broader view of the age-related segmental and suprasegmental speech changes in European Portuguese (EP), considering new aspects besides static acoustic features, such as dynamic and articulatory data. Method: Two databases, with speech data of Portuguese adult native speakers obtained through standardized recording and segmentation procedures, were devised: i) an acoustic database containing all EP oral vowels produced in similar context (reading speech), and also a sample of semispontaneous speech (image description) collected from a large sample of adults between the ages 35 and 97; ii) and another with articulatory data (ultrasound (US) tongue images synchronized with speech) for all EP oral vowels produced in similar contexts (pseudowords and isolated) collected from young ([21-35]) and older ([55-73]) adults. Results: Based on the curated databases, various aspects of the aging speech were analyzed. Acoustically, the aging speech is characterized by: 1) longer vowels (in both genders); 2) a tendency for F0 to decrease in women and slightly increase in men; 3) lower vowel formant frequencies in females; 4) a significant reduction of the vowel acoustic space in men; 5) vowels with higher trajectory slope of F1 (in both genders); 6) shorter descriptions with higher pause time for males; 7) faster speech and articulation rate for females; and 8) lower HNR for females in semi-spontaneous speech. In addition, the total speech duration decrease is associated to non-severe depression symptoms and age. Older adults tended to present more depressive symptoms that could impact the amount of speech produced. Concerning the articulatory data, the tongue tends to be higher and more advanced with aging for almost all vowels, meaning that the vowel articulatory space tends to be higher, advanced, and bigger in older females. Conclusion: This study provides new information on aging speech for a language other than English. These results corroborate that speech changes with age and present different patterns between genders, and also suggest that speakers might develop specific articulatory adjustments with aging.Contextualização: Embora o processo de envelhecimento cause alterações específicas no sistema de produção de fala, o conhecimento sobre os efeitos da idade na fala é ainda disperso e incompleto. Objetivo: Proporcionar uma visão mais ampla das alterações segmentais e suprassegmentais da fala relacionadas com a idade no Português Europeu (PE), considerando outros aspetos, para além das características acústicas estáticas, tais como dados dinâmicos e articulatórios. Método: Foram criadas duas bases de dados, com dados de fala de adultos nativos do PE, obtidos através de procedimentos padronizados de gravação e segmentação: i) uma base de dados acústica contendo todas as vogais orais do PE em contexto semelhante (leitura de palavras), e também uma amostra de fala semiespontânea (descrição de imagem) produzidas por uma larga amostra de indivíduos entre os 35 e os 97 anos; ii) e outra com dados articulatórios (imagens de ultrassom da língua sincronizadas com o sinal acústico) de todas as vogais orais do PE produzidas em contextos semelhantes (pseudopalavras e palavras isoladas) por adultos de duas faixas etárias ([21-35] e [55-73]). Resultados: Tendo em conta as bases de dados curadas, foi analisado o efeito da idade em diversas características da fala. Acusticamente, a fala de pessoas mais velhas é caracterizada por: 1) vogais mais longas (ambos os sexos); 2) tendência para F0 diminuir nas mulheres e aumentar ligeiramente nos homens; 3) diminuição da frequência dos formantes das vogais nas mulheres; 4) redução significativa do espaço acústico das vogais nos homens; 5) vogais com maior inclinação da trajetória de F1 (ambos os sexos); 6) descrições mais curtas e com maior tempo de pausa nos homens; 7) aumento da velocidade articulatória e da velocidade de fala nas mulheres; e 8) diminuição do HNR na fala semiespontânea em mulheres. Além disso, os idosos tendem a apresentar mais sintomas depressivos que podem afetar a quantidade de fala produzida. Em relação aos dados articulatórios, a língua tende a apresentar-se mais alta e avançada em quase todas as vogais com a idade, ou seja o espaço articulatório das vogais tende a ser maior, mais alto e avançado nas mulheres mais velhas. Conclusão: Este estudo fornece novos dados sobre o efeito da idade na fala para uma língua diferente do inglês. Os resultados corroboram que a fala sofre alterações com a idade, que diferem em função do género, sugerindo ainda que os falantes podem desenvolver ajustes articulatórios específicos com a idade.Programa Doutoral em Gerontologia e Geriatri