Voice quality monitoring: a portable device prototype.
This paper addresses the important issue of voice monitoring throughout the day under a clinical perspective. This problem is of great concern, for rehabilitation and from the assistive technology point of view. A prototype for a new portable device is proposed, implementing basic voice quality indexes (fundamental frequency F0, jitter, relative average perturbation RAP, noise) by means of robust high-resolution techniques. The device is contact-less, as the transducer is a small microphone included in the device. A feedback for patients outside the clinic is provided, given by a led/audio unit that advices the patient for any abnormal vocal emission, to help patients with carryover of therapy goals outside the clinical environment. The device will collect audio recordings to be submitted to a PC for further analysis, to be performed off-line. Such device for self-diagnosis and vocal rehabilitation could give a valid support, both to clinicians and patients.
Manfredi
Claudia
C
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Faculty of Engineering, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via S. Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy. manfredi@det.unifi.it
Bruschi
Tommaso
T
Dallai
Alessandro
A
Ferri
Alessandro
A
Tortoli
Piero
P
Calisti
Marcello
M
D000465:Algorithms; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008904:Miniaturization; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014833:Voice Quality / Q000502:physiology*; D014834:Voice Training