Validation of a modern miniature transducer for measurement of interlabial contact pressure during speech

The response characteristics of the Entran Flatline pressure transducer (EPL-2001-10) and its potential for use in studies of speech production were investigated. Data from a model simulating bilabial closure and from 2 human subjects indicate that this transducer is an appropriate tool for measurement of interlabial pressure during production of bilabial consonants. That is, the onset of the pressure pulse corresponds to the initiation of lip contact between the upper and lower lips, and the return to baseline represents complete lip separation, thus eliminating the need to infer lip contact from records of lip movement. Transducer output is not influenced significantly by temperature fluctuations or changes in the configuration and stiffness of the lips. The frequency response and level of sensitivity are linear over the range of pressures produced during speech. The subjects in this study typically generated interlabial pressures of 1.0-3.0 kPa during production of [p] in a carrier phrase.