Electroglottogram waveform types.

Abstract

Electroglottography is a useful, non-invasive technique that can assist in the assessment of vocal fold dysfunction. However, if it is to become a useful clinical tool, there is a need for normative studies of the electroglottogram waveform types that characterize trained professional voice users, untrained non-professional speakers and patients with voice disorders and for a way of quantifying and objectively comparing similarities and differences. This report describes our methodology and an investigation into the waveform types characterizing one trained professional voice user phonating in 15 experimental sessions under various fundamental frequency, intensity and voice quality conditions. A number of strong tendencies were noted. In normal voice the lower frequencies and intensities represent one pole of a scale of a mode of phonation, while the higher frequencies and intensities depict the other pole. In these studies breathy voice data overlapped the lower end of the scale and tense voice data overlapped the upper end.