The feasibility of a kinematic measure of lip closure during meaningful speech

Purpose : Assessment of dysarthria has traditionally been based on perceptu al methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of usi ng 2D kinematic analysis to measure lip closure during normal speech. Method: Retroflective markers (4 mm diameter) were placed on the midline of each lip of three healthy male, caucasian volunteers aged 69 years who rep eated the sentence 'My mother made me an apple and blackberry pie ' six tim es. Videorecordings were analysed using the Ariel Performance Analysis Syst em to calculate the distance between the lips before, during and after the sentence. Results : The graphs produced from the data objectively measured the distan ce between the lips and identified the eight bilabial sounds. However, in s pite of stringent study criteria to minimize differences linked to age, gen der and race, differences were found between participants. Conclusion : Kinematic 2D analysis may have potential for the objective mea surement of lip closure in dysarthria in the context of meaningful speech. These results justify further pilot work to explore: the possible variabili ty within defined populations; and the usefulness of 2D kinematic analysis in the measurement of disordered lip closure in dysarthria.