Using a Vortex Whistle System to Estimate Phonatory Airflow via the Phonation Quotient

Area of Science:

• Speech and Hearing Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Respiratory Physiology

Background:

• Phonation quotient (PQ) is a key metric in voice analysis.
• Clinical assessment often relies on phonatory airflow (PA) measured by expensive systems.
• Evaluating low-cost alternatives for PQ measurement is crucial for accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare phonation quotient (PQ) derived from a low-cost vortex whistle system (VWS) with phonatory airflow (PA) measured by a clinical standard.
• To validate VWS-derived PQ against a gold standard spirometer.
• To assess the feasibility of VWS for routine voice assessment.

Main Methods:

• 91 healthy young adults (18-30 years) participated.
• Vital capacity (VC) and maximum phonation time (MPT) were measured using VWS and a Koko Sx1000 spirometer.
• Phonatory airflow (PA) was measured using the Phonatory Aerodynamic System (PAS). PQ was calculated as VC/MPT.

Main Results:

• High correlations were found between VWS-derived PQ and clinical PA (r=0.791).
• VWS-derived PQ showed strong correlation with gold standard spirometer PQ (r=0.961).
• Error margins for VWS-derived PA were within acceptable clinical variability.

Conclusions:

• A low-cost VWS provides accurate PQ measurements comparable to gold standard spirometers.
• PQ derived from VWS can serve as a reliable substitute for clinical phonatory airflow (PA) measurements.
• VWS offers a promising, cost-effective tool to enhance voice assessment protocols for speech-language pathologists.