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Updated: May 27, 2026

Synthetic, Multi-Layer, Self-Oscillating Vocal Fold Model Fabrication
Published on: December 2, 2011
Phonation threshold pressure and onset frequency in a two-layer physical model of the vocal folds
Abie H Mendelsohn1, Zhaoyan Zhang
1University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, 31-24 Rehabilitation Center, 1000 Veteran Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90095-1794, USA.
Abstract:
The influence of vocal fold geometry and stiffness on phonation onset was experimentally investigated using a body-cover physical model of the vocal folds. Results showed that a lower phonation threshold pressure and phonation onset frequency can be achieved by reducing body-layer or cover-layer stiffness, reducing medial surface thickness, or increasing cover-layer depth. Increasing body-layer stiffness also restricted vocal fold motion to the cover layer and reduced prephonatory glottal opening. Excitation of anterior-posterior modes was also observed, particularly for large values of the body-cover stiffness ratio. The results of this study were also discussed in relation to previous theoretical and experimental studies.
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