1 Voice disorders often lead to changes in voice quality noticed by patients, clinicians, and conversation 2 partners, and improvement in voice quality is a critical outcome of treatment. However, we have limited 3 knowledge of how people perceive voice quality. This has restricted our ability to accurately quantify or 4 describe changes in quality, such as due to a disease or when resulting from treatment. This continuation 5 project combines concepts and techniques from voice science, speech science, hearing science, and 6 engineering to address this problem. In general, the research proceeds by first obtaining high-precision 7 measures of voice quality perception in the laboratory. These data are then used to develop mathematical 8 models of voice quality perception that accurately reflect listeners' data. To obtain a close match between 9 human judgments of voice quality and model output, models of auditory processing are used to obtain an10 internal representation of the voice acoustic signal. Specific measures are then captured from this internal11 auditory representation and used to model the perception of voice quality. Methods for obtaining perceptual12 judgments of single voice quality dimensions, the transformation of the acoustic signal to its internal13 representation, and the general form of the voice quality models have been completed for two different voice14 quality dimensions (breathiness and roughness) using simple stimuli (vowel /a/ as in 'hot'). In the proposed15 work, these approaches will be developed further to establish a framework for comprehensive understanding of16 voice quality perception and to enable translation to clinical practice. These approaches will be (1) used to17 account for multiple, co-occurring voice quality dimensions; (2) applied to more natural and complex stimuli18 (multiple vowels and syllables); and (3) leveraged to understand other voice quality dimensions (strain). (4) To19 increase model accuracy and to expand their applicability to severely dysphonic voices (e.g. Type II and Type20 III), methods to estimate the 'pitch' and 'pitch strength' of dysphonic voices will be developed and incorporated21 into relevant models. (4) To enhance the measurement schemes in a manner that improves clinical utility,22 model output will be transformed to a scale that is intuitively related to the perceptual magnitude of each voice23 quality dimension. This will create a set of intuitive voice quality metrics that are easy to use and interpret. (5)24 Finally, the feasibility of using these models and metrics in regular clinical assessment will be evaluated25 through an initial clinical study.
This research will develop a framework leading to better understanding of the rules andrelationships that govern voice quality perception. Tools will be developed for simple;accurate; and efficient quantification of voice quality that will translate to betterrehabilitation and surgical treatment outcomes and lower health care costs.
| Kopf, Lisa M; Skowronski, Mark D; Anand, Supraja et al. (2017) The Perception of Breathiness in the Voices of Pediatric Speakers. J Voice : |
| Kopf, Lisa M; Jackson-Menaldi, Cristina; Rubin, Adam D et al. (2017) Pitch Strength as an Outcome Measure for Treatment of Dysphonia. J Voice 31:691-696 |
| Eddins, David A; Anand, Supraja; Camacho, Arturo et al. (2016) Modeling of Breathy Voice Quality Using Pitch-strength Estimates. J Voice 30:774.e1-774.e7 |
| Skowronski, Mark D; Shrivastav, Rahul; Hunter, Eric J (2015) Cepstral Peak Sensitivity: A Theoretic Analysis and Comparison of Several Implementations. J Voice 29:670-81 |
| Eddins, David A; Kopf, Lisa M; Shrivastav, Rahul (2015) The psychophysics of roughness applied to dysphonic voice. J Acoust Soc Am 138:3820-5 |
| Eddins, David A; Shrivastav, Rahul (2013) Psychometric properties associated with perceived vocal roughness using a matching task. J Acoust Soc Am 134:EL294-300 |
| Patel, Sona; Shrivastav, Rahul; Eddins, David A (2012) Developing a single comparison stimulus for matching breathy voice quality. J Speech Lang Hear Res 55:639-47 |
| Shrivastav, Rahul; Eddins, David A; Anand, Supraja (2012) Pitch strength of normal and dysphonic voices. J Acoust Soc Am 131:2261-9 |
| Patel, Sona; Shrivastav, Rahul; Eddins, David A (2012) Identifying a comparison for matching rough voice quality. J Speech Lang Hear Res 55:1407-22 |
| Shrivastav, Rahul; Camacho, Arturo; Patel, Sona et al. (2011) A model for the prediction of breathiness in vowels. J Acoust Soc Am 129:1605-15 |
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