Advances in Clinical Voice Quality Analysis with VOXplot.

Background: The assessment of voice quality can be evaluated perceptually with standard clinical practice, also including acoustic evaluation of digital voice recordings to validate and further interpret perceptual judgments. The goal of the present study was to determine the strongest acoustic voice quality parameters for perceived hoarseness and breathiness when analyzing the sustained vowel [a:] using a new clinical acoustic tool, the VOXplot software.

Methods: A total of 218 voice samples of individuals with and without voice disorders were applied to perceptual and acoustic analyses.

Reliability of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index AVQI and the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) when wearing CoViD-19 protective masks.

Purpose: Investigating whether the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) are valid and comparable to previous unmasked measurements if the speaker wears a surgical mask or a FFP-2 mask to reduce the risk of transmitting air-borne viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: A convenience sample of 31 subjectively healthy participants was subjected to AVQI and ABI voice examination four times: Twice wearing no mask, once with a surgical mask and once with a FFP-2 mask as used regularly in our hospital. The order of the four mask conditions was randomized.

[Tasteless thickening agents? A competitive comparison].

Background: Thickening of drinks is a standard procedure in dysphagia therapy. Among other things, this adaptive procedure aims to prevent posterior leakage and reduce the demands placed on retarded swallowing reflexes by decelerating boluses. Studies show that taste perception can induce a negative attitude towards thickened fluids in patients.

Effects of a conservative in-patient voice treatment on the voice-related self-concept.

Purpose: Observational study to determine if the voice-related self-concept as measured via the Fragebogen zur Erfassung des Stimmlichen Selbstkonzepts FESS (questionnaire for the assessment of the voice self-concept) can be improved through in-patient voice therapy.

Methods: 234 female and 80 male patients that underwent an intensive 3- to 4-week in-patient voice treatment due to varying types of dysphonia. After imputation of missing items but not missing questionnaires, 255 patients were eligible for FESS evaluation, 313 for VHI-12 evaluation.

Evaluation of a Non-Personalized Optopalatographic Device for Prospective Use in Functional Post-Stroke Dysphagia Therapy.

Objective: Stroke survivors commonly suffer from dysphagia, originating from oro-facial impairments which affect swallowing function. Functional therapy often employs tongue exercises that require the patient to perform short motion sequences. Evaluating the patient's performance on those exercises is difficult, because there is no reliable form of visual feedback.

Smell and taste in idiopathic blepharospasm.

The pathophysiology of blepharospasm is incompletely understood. Current concepts suggest that blepharospasm is a network disorder, involving basal ganglia, thalamus, cortex, and, possibly, the cerebellum. Tracing, imaging, and clinical studies revealed that these structures are also concerned with olfaction and taste.

Olfaction as a Marker for Dystonia: Background, Current State and Directions.

Dystonia is a heterogeneous group of hyperkinetic movement disorders. The unifying descriptor of dystonia is the motor manifestation, characterized by continuous or intermittent contractions of muscles that cause abnormal movements and postures. Additionally, there are psychiatric, cognitive, and sensory alterations that are possible or putative non-motor manifestations of dystonia.

Smell and taste in cervical dystonia.

The pathophysiology of cervical dystonia is not completely understood. Current concepts of the pathophysiology propose that it is a network disorder involving the basal ganglia, cerebellum and sensorimotor cortex. These structures are primarily concerned with sensorimotor control but are also involved in non-motor functioning such as the processing of information related to the chemical senses.

[Evaluation of the questionnaire on voice self-concept by ENT tumor patients].

Objective: The questionnaire for the assessment of the voice self-concept (Fragebogen zur Erfassung des stimmlichen Selbstkonzepts, FESS) measures personal aspects such as the relationship with one's own voice and its self-perception. This study is concerned with its applicability in patients with head & neck malignancy. In an earlier anonymous study, a majority of patients rated the questionnaire as easy-to-answer.

[Voice self-concept in 230 German patients after head-and-neck malignancy].

Introduction: The German questionnaire 'Fragebogen zur Erfassung des Stimmlichen Selbstkonzepts (FESS)', published by Nusseck et al 2015, evaluates voice self-concept in 3 scales. There are no normative data for clinical populations published. Gaining an insight into patients' voice self-concept might help in taking individualized decisions in head & neck cancer.

[Questionnaire for the assessment of the voice self-concept in a neurological practice : Applicability for the identification of patients with high consultation needs].

Introduction: Hoarseness occurs as a symptom of a multitude of neurological diseases. The importance people attribute to their voice differs greatly and it seems advisable to take this into account during consultation. The Questionnaire for the assessment of the voice self-concept (FESS) is able to measure this importance.

Validation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index Version 03.01 and Acoustic Breathiness Index in German.

Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the acoustic voice quality index (AVQI) version 03.01 and the acoustic breathiness index (ABI) in the German language.

Methods: Concatenated voice samples of continuous speech (cs) and sustained vowel (sv) [a:] from 175 subjects with dysphonia and 43 vocally healthy subjects were perceptually judged for overall voice quality and breathiness severity.

[Internal Validation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index version 03.01 und Acoustic Breathiness Index].

Objective: Acoustics might have the potential to objectify voice quality (eg, hoarseness and breathiness). The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) revealed sufficient valid and reliable results in the evaluation of voice quality. The aim of the present study is to validate the recent version of AVQI 03.

Fully automated glottis segmentation in endoscopic videos using local color and shape features of glottal regions.

Exact analysis of glottal vibration patterns is indispensable for the assessment of laryngeal pathologies. Increasing demand of voice related examination and large amount of data provided by high-speed laryngoscopy and stroboscopy call for automatic assistance in research and patient care. Automatic glottis segmentation is necessary to assist glottal vibration pattern analysis, but unfortunately proves to be very challenging.

Transsynaptic delivery of nanoparticles to the central auditory nervous system.

Conclusion: Silica nanoparticles may serve as a nonviral delivery system to the sensory hair cells, spiral ganglion cells within the cochlea, and the vestibular organ, as well as the cochlear nucleus.

Objectives: At present there are no targeted therapeutics for inner ear disease. A variety of viral vector systems have been tested in the inner ear with variable efficacy but they are still not regarded as safe systems for inner ear delivery.