Measurement of Phonation Threshold Power in Normal and Disordered Voice Production

• Published in: Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology Vol. 122; no. 9; pp. 555 - 560
• Main Authors: Zhuang, Peiyun, Swinarska, Joanna T., Robieux, Camille F., Hoffman, Matthew R., Lin, Shengzhi, Jiang, Jack J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2013; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Biomechanics; Cysts; Female; Human health and pathology; Human subjects; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Laryngeal Neoplasms - complications; Laryngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Laryngeal Neoplasms - physiopathology; Larynx; Larynx - physiopathology; Life Sciences; Linguistics; Male; Measurement techniques; Phonation - physiology; Phonation Disorders; Phonation Structures; Phonation Threshold Pressure; Polyps - complications; Polyps - diagnosis; Polyps - physiopathology; ROC Curve; Speech Pathology; Vocal Cords - physiopathology; Vocal Folds; Voice Disorders - diagnosis; Voice Disorders - etiology; Voice Disorders - physiopathology; Voice Quality - physiology; artificial neural network; vocal fold paralysis; mass lesion; voice analysis; phonation threshold power; aerodynamic parameters; mass lesions
• ISSN: 0003-4894; 1943-572X
• DOI: 10.1177/000348941312200904

Objectives: Phonation threshold pressure (PTP) and phonation threshold flow (PTF) are useful aerodynamic parameters, but each is sensitive to different disorders. A single comprehensive aerodynamic parameter sensitive to a variety of disorders might be beneficial in quantitative voice assessment. We performed the first study of phonation threshold power (PTW) in human subjects. Methods: PTP and PTF were measured in 100 normal subjects, 19 subjects with vocal fold immobility, and 94 subjects with a benign mass lesion. PTW was calculated from these two parameters. In 41 subjects with a polyp, measurements were obtained before and after excision. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the ability of the three parameters to distinguish between controls and disordered groups. Results: The PTW (p < 0.001), PTP (p < 0.001), and PTF (p < 0.001) were different among the three groups. All parameters decreased after polyp excision. PTW had the highest area under the ROC curve for all analyses. Conclusions: PTW is sensitive to the presence of mass lesions and vocal fold mobility disorders. Additionally, changes in PTW can be observed after excision of mass lesions. PTW could be a useful parameter to describe the aerodynamic inputs to voice production.