Analysis of vocal tract shape and dimensions using magnetic resonance imaging: Vowels

TLDR

MRI was employed to collect anatomical data for use in computational models of speech articulation. The study conducted two experiments: in the first, simultaneous voice recordings and MR images of two male subjects producing four vowels were used to extract tract area functions, generate digital filters, and resynthesize and compare the vowels; in the second, axial MR images of nine vowels were analyzed to relate pharyngeal cross‑sectional area to midsagittal width and examine oral cavity data from experiment 1.

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques were used to gather basic data to apply in computational models of speech articulation. Two experiments were performed. In experiment 1, voice recordings from two male subjects were obtained simultaneously with axial, coronal, or midsagittal MR images of their vocal tracts while they produced the four point vowels. Area functions describing the individual tract shapes were obtained by measurements performed on the MR images. Digital filters derived from these functions were then used to resynthesize the vowel sounds which were compared, both perceptually and acoustically, with the subjects’ original recordings. In experiment 2, axial images of the pharyngeal cavity were collected during the production of an ensemble of nine vowels. Plots of cross-sectional area versus the midsagittal width of the tract at different locations within the pharynx and for different vowel productions were used to derive a functional relationship between the two variables. Data from experiment 1 relating midsagittal width to cross-sectional area within the oral cavity were also examined.