Accuracy of jitter estimates using different filter settings on Visi-Pitch: a preliminary report

Area of Science:

• Speech science and acoustics
• Voice analysis technology

Background:

• Accurate measurement of voice perturbation, specifically jitter, is crucial for diagnosing voice disorders.
• The Visi-Pitch device offers automated jitter analysis, but its optimal settings require validation.
• Previous research suggested alternative filter settings for Visi-Pitch, potentially impacting jitter measurement accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of Visi-Pitch jitter measurements using manufacturer-recommended filter settings.
• To compare Visi-Pitch derived jitter values with traditional hand-measured values.
• To determine if alternative filter settings offer superior jitter estimation compared to standard settings.

Main Methods:

• Sustained /a/ phonations were recorded from three subjects.
• Jitter values were automatically calculated using Visi-Pitch with four different filter settings.
• Acoustic signals were manually measured, and jitter was computed using Koike's formula for comparison.

Main Results:

• The difference between Visi-Pitch and hand-measured jitter was minimal across tested settings.
• Manufacturer-recommended filter settings yielded jitter values comparable to manual measurements.
• Alternative settings did not demonstrate a significant improvement in jitter estimation accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The Visi-Pitch device provides reliable jitter measurements with its default filter settings.
• Manufacturer recommendations for Visi-Pitch filter settings are validated for clinical use.
• There is no significant benefit to using alternative filter settings for jitter analysis with Visi-Pitch.