Acoustic analysis of pathological voices. A voice analysis system for the screening of laryngeal diseases

Abstract

The authors propose a software system for pathological voice analysis and screening of laryngeal diseases that has the following properties: a) The analysis is totally noninvasive-the microphone is about 30 cm from the patient's mouth, and contact microphones or laryngophones are not used. b) The system is built around a low-cost personal computer (PC). The additional hardware consists of a standard sound card such as "Sound Blaster" (Creative Technology Inc., Paris, France). The card also includes a microphone. Any other analog-to-digital converter board allowing a sampling rate higher than 16 kHz, with 16 bit resolution (Sound Blaster and OROS have been already tested), and a linear phase condenser or electret microphone can be used to minimize the distortions during capture of the signal. c) The software is graphics-driven and user-friendly, therefore no special training is needed in using the system. d) The system is electrically safe since there is no electrical link between patient and PC.