Speech production after glossectomy: Methodological aspects

Abstract

This paper focuses on methodological issues related to quantitative assessments of speech quality after glossectomy. Acoustic and articulatory data were collected for 8 consonants from two patients. The acoustic analysis is based on spectral moments and the Klatt VOT. Lingual movements are recorded with ultrasound without calibration. The variations of acoustic and articulatory parameters across pre-and post-surgery conditions are analysed in the light of perceptual evaluations of the stimuli. A parameter is considered to be relevant if its variation is congruent with perceptual ratings. The most relevant acoustic parameters are the skewness and the Center of Gravity. The Klatt VOT explains differences that could not be explained by spectral parameters. The SNTS ultrasound parameter provides information to describe impairments not accounted for by acoustical parameters. These results suggest that the combination of articulatory, perceptual and acoustic data provides comprehensive complementary information for a quantitative assessment of speech after glossectomy.

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 .…”

“…Details are given in Table . Note that with the exception of two studies, the subjects included are mostly men.…”

“…In total, 11 studies (50%) address patients treated for cancer of the oral cavity only. The anatomical sites mainly (9/11) involve the tongue (treated by total or partial glossectomy). The remaining two studies investigate maxillary tumors …”

“…One study (5%) includes as many subjects with small T1 + T2 tumors than with larger T3 + T4 tumors (T3 + T4) . Last, six studies (27%) do not report the size of the tumor of participants …”

Análise ultrassonográfica quantitativa do movimento da língua em 14 fonemas do Português Brasileiro

“…These studies contemplate both a qualitative and a quantitative description of patterns of speech production in adults (10,11) , in typical children (12,13) , and in different clinical groups, such as: hearing impaired individuals (14,15) , children with apraxia of speech (16,17) , glossectomized individuals (18,19) and individuals with tongue paresis (20) . Among the cited studies that aimed to analyze the typical production in adult and/or child speech (10)(11)(12)(13) , there is a limited number of individuals (varying from 6 to 10) using both qualitative and quantitative parameters to describe the tongue movement held in the production of different speech sounds (/p/; /t/; /k/; /f/; /s/; /∫/; /l/ e /r/).…”