CHCS - Perspectives Winter/Spring 2016

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 71 Students are taught to take thorough case his- tories and administer perceptual assessments. They appreciate the subjectivity of the data and learn to supplement the information with objective measurements. Machines with computerized acoustic software, such as the Visi-Pitch IV, are used to measure and analyze the voice in terms of sound physics. The voice is analyzed at both the source level (glottal spectrum) and as it travels through the vocal tract (supraglottal resonance). These acoustic measurements provide objective, quantitative data and allow for assessment of the integrity of the vocal folds. Clinicians can use the Visi-Pitch to view visual tracings and listen to recordings of clients’ vocal productions for additional acoustic and percep- tual information. These feedback capabilities also provide the client with immediate visual biofeedback and delayed auditory biofeedback for therapeutic purposes. For younger clients, motivational games can be used to provide visual biofeedback during voice therapy. Instrumentation Paige Penina, left, and Caroline Trzaska Spectrography (Visi-Pitch IV) The photo above has two former graduate students demonstrating the use of spectrography—an acoustic program of the Visi-Pitch IV software—which analyzes how the voice is shaped, through resonance, in the vocal tract. With its visual and auditory biofeedback capabilities, spectrography can facilitate the achievement of rich timbre in the voice. Carly Obrand, left, and Ashley Burke-Maur Nasometry (Nasometer II) At left, two former graduate students are demon- strating nasometry, which is an acoustic tool in the clinic that provides quantitative data in the diagnosis of hypernasality (too much sound coming out of the nose) versus denasality (not enough sounds resonating in the nasal cavities). Hypernasality is commonly perceived in individ- uals with craniofacial anomalies, such as velopha- ryngeal dysfunction, unrepaired cleft palate, and/ or fissures in the palate (palatal fistulae). Denasal- ity may be a sign of overly large adenoids. continued on page 72