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The extraction and analysis of the fundamental frequency ( Fo) of infant vocalizations has been the focus of a number of efforts over the past thirty years. It is thought that this parameter is an important information channel from which information regarding the state of an infant can be determined. To date, research groups working to extract the vocal fundamental frequency of infant cries have been limited in the resolution and granularity of the Fo extraction methods used for adult speech, which, typically, are not well suited for infant cries. In general, thefundamental frequency range of adult speech is limited to values below 600 Hz. whereas for infant cries, Fo can have a range of several hundred hertz, and be subject to rapid changes in certain cases. This paperpresents a new method for accurately determining the FO of infant cries, which is applicable to other vocalizations as well. The method presented uses the crosscorrelation of adjacent speech segments to generate a three-dimensional plot called a crosscorrelogram. Fmm this plot, the fundamental frequency of an infant cry can easily be extracted, regardless of the value of Fo.

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