The difference between first and second harmonic amplitudes correlates between glottal airflow and neck-surface...

Area of Science:

• Speech science
• Biomedical engineering
• Acoustics

Background:

• Miniature accelerometers on the neck are used for vocal function measures in various settings.
• The L1-L2 measure, historically H1-H2, is a common vocal function assessment derived from glottal airflow.
• Assessing voice quality non-invasively is crucial for clinical and research applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the L1-L2 measure derived from glottal airflow with that obtained from neck-surface acceleration signals.
• To determine if accelerometer-based L1-L2 estimates correlate with airflow-based estimates.
• To investigate the potential of neck accelerometers for assessing glottal physiological parameters and voice quality.

Main Methods:

• Collected neck-surface acceleration signals from 79 vocally healthy female speakers using miniature high-bandwidth accelerometers.
• Computed the L1-L2 measure (difference between log-magnitude of first and second harmonics) from both raw accelerometer data and glottal airflow waveforms.
• Statistically analyzed the correlation between L1-L2 values obtained from the two signal types.

Main Results:

• A significant positive correlation (r = 0.72) was found between L1-L2 values derived from airflow and accelerometer signals.
• Accelerometer-based L1-L2 estimates demonstrated a strong agreement with those calculated from glottal airflow.
• The findings support the reliability of using neck-surface acceleration for vocal function analysis.

Conclusions:

• Raw neck-surface acceleration signals can provide valid estimates of the L1-L2 measure.
• Accelerometer-based L1-L2 values are indicative of glottal physiological parameters and voice quality.
• Neck accelerometers offer a promising, potentially more accessible, method for vocal function assessment.