Objective Acoustic-Phonetic Speech Analysis in Patients Treated for Oral or Oropharyngeal Cancer

Abstract

Objective: Speech impairment often occurs in patients after treatment for head and neck cancer. New treatment modalities such as surgical reconstruction or (chemo)radiation techniques aim at sparing anatomical structures that are correlated with speech and swallowing. In randomized trials investigating efficacy of various treatment modalities or speech rehabilitation, objective speech analysis techniques may add to improve speech outcome assessment. The goal of the present study is to investigate the role of objective acoustic-phonetic analyses in a multidimensional speech assessment protocol. Patients and Methods: Speech recordings of 51 patients (6 months after reconstructive surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for oral or oropharyngeal cancer) and of 18 control speakers were subjectively evaluated regarding intelligibility, nasal resonance, articulation, and patient-reported speech outcome (speech subscale of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Head and Neck 35 module). Acoustic-phonetic analyses were performed to calculate formant values of the vowels /a, i, u/, vowel space, air pressure release of /k/ and spectral slope of /x/. Results: Intelligibility, articulation, and nasal resonance were best predicted by vowel space and /k/. Within patients, /k/ and /x/ differentiated tumor site and stage. Various objective speech parameters were related to speech problems as reported by patients. Conclusion: Objective acoustic-phonetic analysis of speech of patients is feasible and contributes to further development of a speech assessment protocol.

Gender difference in speech intelligibility using speech intelligibility tests and acoustic analyses

“…It was reported that vowel working space has positive relationship with speech intelligibility 10,20-22. Vowel working space means the space enclosed by the first two formants of corner vowels 22.…”

Effects of oral and oropharyngeal cancer on speech intelligibility using acoustic analysis: Systematic review

“…Among the 22 studies, 10 include more than 20 patients, and also 10 include between 2 and 18 subjects . Two articles do not report the number of subjects involved in the acoustic analysis .…”

“…Six studies (27%) include both patients treated for cancer of the oral cavity and patients treated for oropharynx cancer …”

“…Regarding the size of the tumor, 12 studies (54%) include smaller tumors (T1 + T2) than large ones . Three studies (14%) focus on larger tumors (T3 + T4) .…”

Language-Independent Automatic Evaluation of Intelligibility of Chronically Hoarse Persons

“…However, until recently, the latter were usually restricted to voice quality measurements on sustained vowels or single phones, i.e. speech stimuli that differ considerably from natural speech encountered in realistic communication settings [3][4][5][6] . Important speech criteria, such as intelligibility, cannot be obtained in this way and require much more elaborate solutions.…”