Observations and Considerations for Implementing Remote Acoustic Voice Recording and Analysis in Clinical Practice

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Acoustic Analysis
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Remote voice recording and acoustic analysis offer a cost-effective, accessible method for voice assessment and outcome tracking.
• Traditional in-person evaluations require clinic visits and specialized equipment, posing barriers for some patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the implementation process and considerations for remote voice recording and acoustic analysis in a high-volume university voice clinic.
• To assess the feasibility and challenges of a remote voice recording system for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs).

Main Methods:

• A 6-month study involving 108 unique patients using a remote voice recording phone application.
• Development of a clinical process, including establishing normative data, clinician training, and application deployment.
• Post-implementation survey of 8 treating SLPs to evaluate ease of use, challenges, and solutions.

Main Results:

• 83 out of 108 patients successfully completed synchronous remote acoustic voice recordings with their SLP.
• The recording process typically took 10-20 minutes, as reported by surveyed SLPs.
• Key challenges and effective techniques for remote voice data collection were identified.

Conclusions:

• Remote acoustic voice recordings successfully facilitate comprehensive voice evaluations within a telepractice model.
• The viability, data acquisition success, and low-cost accessibility of remote voice recording apps support their use in remote clinical care and research.