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Objectives To elaborate the application suitable for smartphones for estimation of Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and evaluate its usability in the clinical setting. Methods An elaborated AVQI automatization and background noise monitoring functions were implemented into a mobile “ VoiceScreen” application running the iOS operating system. A study group consisted of 103 adult individuals with normal voices ( n = 30) and 73 patients with pathological voices. Voice recordings were performed in the clinical setting with “ VoiceScreen” app using iPhone 8 microphones. Voices of 30 patients were recorded before and 1 month after phonosurgical intervention. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy differentiating normal and pathological voice, the receiver-operating characteristic statistics, i.e., area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity, and correct classification rate (CCR) were used. Results A high level of precision of AVQI in discriminating between normal and dysphonic voices was yielded with corresponding AUC = 0.937. The AVQI cutoff score of 3.4 demonstrated a sensitivity of 86.3% and specificity of 95.6% with a CCR of 89.2%. The preoperative mean value of the AVQI [6.01(SD 2.39)] in the post-phonosurgical follow-up group decreased to 2.00 (SD 1.08). No statistically significant differences ( p = 0.216) between AVQI measurements in a normal voice and 1-month follow-up after phonosurgery groups were revealed. Conclusions The “ VoiceScreen ” app represents an accurate and robust tool for voice quality measurement and demonstrates the potential to be used in clinical settings as a sensitive measure of voice changes across phonosurgical treatment outcomes. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00405-022-07546-w.

The outcomes of the present study indicate comparable results between DSI and AVQI with a high level of validity to discriminate between normal and dysphonic voices. However, a higher level of accuracy was yielded for AVQI as a correlate of auditory perceptual judgment suggesting a reliable voice screening potential of AVQI.

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