ASSESSMENT OF VOCAL FUNCTION USING SIMULTANEOUS AERODYNAMIC AND CALIBRATED VIDEOSTROBOSCOPIC MEASURES

Despite many attempts to model how vocal fold movements relate to the aerodynamic forces acting on them during phonation, there have been fe w simultaneous measurements of glottal area and transglottal air press ures and flows. A novel system is described that combines endoscopic m easurement of glottal area with aerodynamic flow and pressure measures made during phonation. Results from bench top model tests and from on e human subject are presented. For both tests, an aerodynamic model of airflow through a constriction was used to predict the area of the co nstriction (glottis), and these predictions were compared with endosco pic measurements. The results showed good correlation between predicte d and observed areas; however, for small constrictions (<0.025 cm(2)), whether artificial or glottal, the errors in estimating areas with ei ther optical or aerodynamic methods increase significantly. These resu lts suggest that this measurement system has the potential to enhance the assessment of vocal function.