PC analysis of altered speech respiration following fitting of a multi-channel cochlear implant prosthesis

This paper describes a personal computer (PC) application for speech respiration analysis. Parameters that can be determined include lung volume changes, the relative contributions of the rib cage and abdomen to lung volume changes and the configuration of the chest wall during speech production. Data collected from two subjects fitted with Nucleus cochlear implant prostheses illustrate one application of this technique. The PC based kinematic analysis described provides previously inaccessible information about the effects of changes in the level of auditory feedback resulting from activation of a multiple channel cochlear prosthesis on the speech production mechanism.