Direct Measurement and Modeling of Intraglottal, Subglottal, and Vocal Fold Collision Pressures during Phonation in an Individual with a Hemilaryngectomy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report on the first in vivo application of a recently developed transoral, dual-sensor pressure probe that directly measures intraglottal, subglottal, and vocal fold collision pressures during phonation. Synchronous measurement of intraglottal and subglottal pressures was accomplished using two miniature pressure sensors mounted on the end of the probe and inserted transorally in a 78-year-old male who had previously undergone surgical removal of his right vocal fold for treatment of laryngeal cancer. The endoscopist used one hand to position the custom probe against the surgically medialized scar band that replaced the right vocal fold and used the other hand to position a transoral endoscope to record laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy of the vibrating left vocal fold contacting the pressure probe. Visualization of the larynx during sustained phonation allowed the endoscopist to place the dual-sensor pressure probe such that the proximal sensor was positioned intraglottally and the distal sensor subglottally. The proximal pressure sensor was verified to be in the strike zone of vocal fold collision during phonation when the intraglottal pressure signal exhibited three characteristics: an impulsive peak at the start of the closed phase, a rounded peak during the open phase, and a minimum value around zero immediately preceding the impulsive peak of the subsequent phonatory cycle. Numerical voice production modeling was applied to validate model-based predictions of vocal fold collision pressure using kinematic vocal fold measures. The results successfully demonstrated feasibility of in vivo measurement of vocal fold collision pressure in an individual with a hemilaryngectomy, motivating ongoing data collection that is designed to aid in the development of vocal dose measures that incorporate vocal fold impact collision and stresses.

Ambulatory Monitoring of Subglottal Pressure Estimated from Neck-Surface Vibration in Individuals with and without Voice Disorders

“…It is believed that a primary contributing factor to phonotrauma is an increase in vocal fold collision forces during voice production. Since previous work has pointed to a high correlation between vocal fold collision pressure and Ps in certain phonatory scenarios [ 106 , 107 ], ambulatory Ps measures could be used as surrogates for vocal fold collision.…”

LaDIVA: A neurocomputational model providing laryngeal motor control for speech acquisition and production

“…Characterizing laryngeal function in phonation requires a detailed understanding of the underlying physiology, biomechanics, and neuromuscular control. The neural motor control and biomechanical mechanisms of typical and disordered laryngeal function involved in vocal production, and the interaction between them are poorly understood, partly due to the invasive nature of assessment and characterization of laryngeal function (i.e., laryngeal electromyography: [ 34 – 39 ], laryngeal endoscopy: [ 40 , 41 ], contact pressure probes:[ 42 ]). The geometry and mechanical properties of the vocal folds (VFs) exhibit a great deal of variability as a function of intrinsic muscle activation, voicing conditions, sex, age, and individual anatomical features, and complex physical interactions occur between VF tissue, airflow, and sound [ 43 , 44 ].…”