Case Study
Key Words: Vocal Folds, Vision Research, Phantom V7.3, Dr. Dimitar Deliyski, University of South Carolina, vibrate, sound, vocal, stroboscopy, endoscope
Vocal Folds
Vision Research high-speed digital cameras facilitate revolutionary research into diagnosing voice disorders
Dr. Dimitar Deliyski in the Voice and Speech Lab at the University of South Carolina NationalInstitute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
“Many people might take their voices for granted – until suddenly they are deprived of the power of speech.” Take a moment to think of the impact that losing your voice could have on your life. It could ruin your career, especially if you rely on your voice like a singer
or broadcaster does, or make life terribly difficult as far as simple communication
between friends and family is concerned. Unfortunately, according to the ,approximately 7.5 million Americans have trouble using their voices and are facing this frightening prospect today.Voice disorders are a widespread problem and much is still left to be learned.Several organizations exist to help raise awareness about the issue and a host of
scientists and researchers are dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the human
voice, including Dr.Dimitar Deliyski, a renowned researcher at the National Institute on Deafnessand Other Communication Disorders .With the help of Vision Research, a leading manufacturer of high-speed digitalimaging solutions, Dr. Deliyski will explore the movements of the human vocal folds
using a revolutionary procedure known as laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy
(HSV). Through the use of HSV, Dr. Deliyski will be able to analyze and capture the motions of human vocal folds as they vibrate to produce sound. Due to the fact that human vocal folds vibrate at considerable speeds – sometimes upwards
of 1,000 times per second – Dr. Deliyski required a high-speed
digital camera that
was as unique and revolutionary as the project that he was spearheading. It was
essential to the success of the research that the high-speed
digital camera
employed boasted an impressive marriage of features, including high-sensitivity,
bit-depth, resolution and speed, and for this Dr. Deliyski turned to Vision Research. To date, the prevailing method for researching the movements of human vocalfolds is laryngeal videostroboscopy. By using an endoscope fixed with a standard
video
camera, and a strobe light set to flash once during each video frame through-
out the vibration cycle of a patient’svocal folds (via electronic pitch synchroniza-
tion), researchers are able to reproduce the effects of slow motion. Although it’s
auseful tool and has undoubtedly improved the diagnosis and treatment of voice
disorders, videostroboscopy has a number of significant limitations. University ofSouth Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health .Committed to advancing the scientific understanding of the human voice, Dr. Deliyski has recently embarked on a five-year study to develop a new methodology to help diagnose voice disorders and to advance the basic science of understanding voice. The research
is supported by a $3.1 million RO1 grant from the
-Walter Cronkite
