title: A system for the objective screening of dysphonia and the possibilities for its application in exposed workers.
abstract: Modern computers and their implementation have enabled the development of software based on mathematical computations, which analyse the parameters of voice signals in real time, as well as in the spectral and capstral domains. A software system written on the basis of specific methods and algorithms for pathological voice analysis allows the evaluation of: to D; PPQ, APQ, D S, D DISS, HNR, DH and GQ. The system was tested (using the vowel "a") on 900 workers at the Neftochim and Devnya chemical refineries in Bulgaria, exposed to irritating gases (NOx, SOx, etc.). The analysis of the studied parameters of the voice signal "a" showed significant changes in 137 workers, diagnosed after routine otolaryngological examination as the following laryngeal pathology: 101 workers suffered from chronic laryngitis, 31 from inflammatory-reactive formations on the vocal folds and five from laryngeal carcinoma. The non-invasive microcomputer system for the quantitative analysis of hoarseness enabled the scanning of laryngeal pathology in large populations of workers exposed to irritating gases in the chemical industry.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Queen Joanna, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doskov
mesh_terms: D002617:Chemical Industry; D006801:Humans; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012984:Software; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*