Mehta Daryush PhD Thesis Proposal FINAL

Dimmitt D. Delivery, PhD, University of South Carolina, whose areas of expertise are in the acousticalalal analysis of give tongue to and the development of laryngeal high-speed videophones. The design, which is enclosed, was favorably received by the Committee, and we canonical the scientific content and proposed piddle as being suitable for a PhD thesis. All of the above members of the Committee have agreed to serve on the Thesis Committee. Sincerely, Joseph S. Propeller Thesis Committee Chair Robert E. Hillman, PhD Thesis Co-Supervisor at once Thesis Proposal Supervisor Agreements Reader Agreement Thomas F.Squattier, tragicomical PhD Thesis Committee fractions 1 . Joseph S. Propeller, PhD (Chair) a. Title Senior Research Scientist, livery conversation Group, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology b. study Discipline Sensory-motor control of speech payoff c. Justification Dry. Propeller fills the percentage of Chair as a non-supervi sor and senior researcher at MIT. Dry. Per keel offers a wide association range from articulate and speech production to speech acoustics and motor involvement in pathological speakers. 2. Robert. E. Hillman, PhD (Co-Supervisor) a.Title Co-Director/Research Director, burden for Laryngeal Surgery and vowelize Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital colleague Professor, Harvard Medical School Faculty of Harvard-MIT Program in dialect and comprehend life science and Technology b. Major Discipline percentage function discernment c. Justification Dry. Hillman is co-adviser and supports the clinical aspects Of the thesis project. The proposed research calls for data collection in the representative clinic and assessment of the phonation production mechanisms and acoustic characteristics of human cases. Subjects volition be selected and evaluated under Dry.Hillman supervision. 3. Thomas F. Squattier, Sad (Co-Supervisor) a. Title Senior Member of Technical Staff, MIT L incoln Laboratory Faculty of Harvard Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology b. Major Discipline Speech ratify processing c. Justification Dry. Squattier is co-adviser and supports the call attention processing aspects of the proposed research. Dry. Squatters work includes the speech aim processing use multimode analysis, and this work especially relates to the proposed research on characterizing point-blank kris moving asymmetries from multimode sensor measurements. 4.Dimmitt D. Delivery, PhD (Reader) a. Title Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina Director, USC Voice and Speech Laboratory b. Major Discipline Voice acoustics and laryngeal high-speed videophones c. Justification Dry. Deliverys areas of expertise are in the acoustic analysis of voice and laryngeal high-speed videophones. Dry. Delivery is a world-leader in the development of high-speed video camera technology for clinical voice asses sment. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and TechnologySpeech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program proposal for Thesis Research in incomplete Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Title Investigating the move of in vivo human oral slew moving asymmetries Co-variations among measures from laryngeal high-speed videophones, acoustic voice analysis, and auditory-perceptual voice assessment of sustained vowel phonated Submitted by Darkish Meat 70 pacific street, Apt 516 Cambridge, MA 02139 speck Subtract Signal Processing particular date of Submission Expected Date of Completion November 25, 2008 July 2009Thesis Co-supervisors Location of Research Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital Abstract Voice specialists make vituperative diagnostic, medical, therapeutic, and surgical decisions by coupling opthalmic observations Of birdcall tidy sum weav e crusade with auditory-perceptual assessments of voice quality. The details of the relationship between forthright stack tissue motion and the acoustic voice signal are non fully understood, and there is juvenile evidence that the acoustic clash of optic creative thinkers of moving inst expertness may be overestimated during clinical voice assessment.A serial of three descriptive studies is proposed to administrationatically describe the co-variations among measures of point-blank furrow moving asymmetries and visual-perceptual judgments, acoustic voice properties, and therapeutically ratings. First, late findings describing co-variations been essential visual judgments and prefatorial documentary measures of call close up vibratory instability in subjects with and without plainspoken pathologies provide be validated with modify algorithms.After replicating these results, control- found measures leave alone be besides refined to consider additional dimen sions in the left-right and anterior-posterior planes f the images. Second, it is proposed to apply the developed impersonal measures of asymmetry to voice data from a new subject creation with vocal pathologies that leave behind be evaluated utilise a state-of-the-art organisation for laryngeal high-speed videophones. The new system will enable the validation Of hypothesized relationships between vocal come on vibratory asymmetry measures and objective acoustic voice measures at unprecedented temporal role resolution. prelude work has revealed mild co-variations between average values of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry and traditional acoustic perturbation assure, and new acoustic correlates of vocal fold vibratory asymmetries will be explored using knowledge of their effects on voice production. Third, an initial study is proposed to characterize the influences of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry on the auditory perception of voice quality. This study to a greater extent dire ctly addresses the clinical reality that voices are assessed by relating vocal fold tissue vibratory patterns to the voice quality of a patient during a standard examination.Voice specialists make critical diagnostic, medical, therapeutic, and surgical decisions based on coupling visual observations of vocal fold tissue motion With auditory-perceptual assessments of voice quality (Zestiest et al. , 2007). While clinical experiences indicate that this approach is primarily valid, it is inherently limited to case-by-case observations, and the details of the relationship been vocal fold tissue action and the acoustic voice signal are not fully understood.Recent evidence indicates that visual judgments of vocal fold vibratory patterns may not adequately reflect changes in objective measures of the acoustic signal (Haven et al. , 2003). Furthermore, the anecdotal reports and stroboscopic findings of a prevalent typical measuring of asymmetry cause a concern, in that it may indicate an growth in overreactions of laryngeal pathology (Shaw and Delivery, 2008).The overall goal of this project is to better go steady the relationship between vocal fold tissue motion and the acoustic characteristics f the glottal voicing source so that clinical methods for assessing voice production can be improved. This work is made possible by recent advances in high-speed digital imaging, which provides adequate sampling for minute intra- and inter-cycle comparisons between vocal fold tissue motion and the concomitant acoustic voice waveform.A series of three descriptive studies is proposed to systematically describe the co-variations among traditional and more advanced measures of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry and their impact on visual judgments, acoustic voice properties, and auditory-perceptual tings. First, it is proposed to reduplicate and improve upon recent findings describing co-variations between subjective visual judgments and basic objective measures of left-right vo cal fold vibratory asymmetry in subjects with and without vocal pathologies (Bonham et al. , AAA Bonham et al. Bibb). After authorize the baseline co-variations with more automatic algorithms for computing left-right asymmetry, the image-based measures will be further developed and optimized based on the visual judgments Of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry in both the left-right and anterior-posterior dimensions. Second, the developed objective measures of asymmetry will be applied to voice data from a new subject population exhibiting vocal pathologies who will be evaluated using a state-of-the-art system for laryngeal high-speed videophones.The new system will leave for the validation of hypothesized relationships between vocal fold vibratory asymmetry measures and objective acoustic voice measures at unprecedented temporal resolution. Preliminary work has revealed mild cavitations between overall values of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry measures and traditional acoustic perturbat ion measures. Acoustic correlates of vocal fold vibratory symmetries will be explored using knowledge of their effects on voice production. Third, an initial study is proposed to characterize the influences of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry on the auditory perception of voice quality.This study more directly addresses the clinical reality that voices are assessed by relating vocal fold tissue vibratory patterns to the voice quality of a patient during a standard stroboscopic examination. 1. 2 Thesis proposal structure This thesis proposal is organized as follows. First, class 2 outlines the three specific aims and associated hypotheses of the proposed investigation, along tit a timeline of goals. Section 3 continues with background information on voice production mechanisms and reviews relevant research studies characterizing vocal fold vibratory asymmetries and the acoustic voice signal.Section 4 introduces work that investigated the co-variations between a forward measure of voc al fold vibratory asymmetry and traditional acoustic perturbation measures. Section 5 follows with the research design and methods for the three studies proposed. F-anally, Section 6 concludes with information regarding the use of humans as subjects in these studies. 2 Specific Aims A series of three studies is proposed to investigate the influence of vocal fold vibratory asymmetries on the acoustic voice signal.Specific aims and associated hypotheses of these studies are fine below. 2. 1 Aim 1 Investigate co-variations between visual judgments of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry and objective measures of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry in subjects with and without vocal pathologies Aim 1 proposes to validate and improve upon recent findings describing co- variations between subjective visual judgments and objective image-based measures of left-right vocal fold vibratory asymmetry in a subject population thou vocal pathologies.The recent findings have documented moderate correlations between visual-perceptual ratings and a basic objective measure of vibratory asymmetry of the left and right vocal folds (Bonham et al. , AAA). Completely automated image-based measures of asymmetry will be developed to replicate the published co-variations with visual ratings on the same data. After validating the automated algorithms for computing asymmetry measures, the image-based measures will be refined and optimized with respect to the peculiarities judgment data to improve pond the baseline co-variations in subject populations with and without vocal pathologies.It is hypothesized that the new image-based measures of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry will co-vary with visual asymmetry judgments to a higher degree than previous image-based measure because of the ability to capture and integrate more temporal and spatial information from the image data. Acoustic voice signal in subjects with vocal pathologies Aim 2 proposes to apply the developed objective measures of asymmetry to voice data placid from a new subject population with vocal pathologies hat will be evaluated using a statute-the-art system for laryngeal high-speed videophones.The system will allow the validation of hypothesized relationships between vocal fold vibratory measures and objective acoustic voice 8 measures, on an average and frame-by-frame basis. Preliminary work has revealed mild co-variations between average values of vocal fold vibratory asymmetry and traditional acoustic perturbation measures (jitter, shimmer, and harmonics-to-noise ratio). As a result, these measures will be applied to a larger subject population and explore new acoustic correlates of vocal fold vibratory asymmetries using knowledge of voice production mechanisms.