Quantative Study of Articulatory Dynamics and its Clinical Applications.

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(1) Non-invasive techniques to accumulate the physiological data from normal subjects have been established.Since the velum is one of the most mobile parts of the vocal tract, it is reasonable to assume that the velum can contribute to modify the quality of the speech sound as well as to regulate the nasality of the voice. The velotrace and the ultrasonic tomograph were used to monitor the vocal tract dynamics.In order to know the acoustic characteristics of the vocal tract, the palatal shape is essential. We invented a device to trace the contour of the palatal shape. The combination of these non-invasive measuring system gives us an idea of the vocal tract dynamics. To compare the actual vocal tract and the measured one, we employed the MRI images and reconstruct three dimensional model of the vocal tract. The results of the comparative study were satisfactory,(2) In order to know the allowance of the variation seen in the actual utterance, , physiological data were collected from various subjects who phonated various conditions and also in various phonatory mode, such as singing, whispering, in fast rate and/or in slow rate. These data confirmed the previous reports and consistency of articulatory movements.(3) For the clinical application, we have investigated the articulatory dynamics from some pathological cases. The subjects of the investigation consisted of the patients with neuromuscular diseases, recurrent nerve palsy or dysarthria caused by various disturbances of the central nervous system.The articulation of the aged people were also studied. The results of these studies suggest that the articulatory movements of patients showed too large variety to make a concrete program for speech training. We need further investigations.