Comparison between the acoustic fundamental frequency of the voice and the vibration frequency of the vocal folds analyzed by digital kymography.
Déborah de Oliveira Albino, Ualisson Nogueira do Nascimento, Elisa Meiti Ribeiro Lin Plec and 2 others
PMID 37909493WHAT IT FOUND
Acoustic voice frequency matches vocal fold vibration frequency measured by digital kymography in healthy adults.
This confirms that standard acoustic tests accurately reflect laryngeal mechanics, supporting their use for monitoring voice function without needing complex imaging for basic frequency assessment.
Key findings
01There were no significant differences between the acoustic fundamental frequency of the voice and the vibration frequency of the vocal folds measured by digital kymography in individuals without laryngeal alteration.
02The study compared these measures in 86 healthy adults (48 women, 38 men) using high-speed videolaryngoscopy and acoustic analysis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used different vowels for the two tests: /a/ for acoustic analysis and /i/ or /ɛ/ for kymography, because the latter vowels allow better laryngeal visualization. This difference in speech material could theoretically affect the comparison, although the authors monitored for habitual frequency and intensity. The high-speed videolaryngoscopy required tongue protrusion, which prevents a completely natural vocal tract positioning during the image capture. The sample consisted only of individuals with no laryngeal alterations, so it does not show if this equivalence holds in patients with voice disorders.
Declared interests
The study was conducted at the Functional Health Observatory in Speech-Language Pathology of the School of Medicine at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (OSF/UFMG). No specific commercial funding or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that acoustic frequency matches kymographic frequency in patients with voice disorders. This study only tested healthy individuals with normal laryngeal exams, so the equivalence might not hold if the vocal folds are asymmetric, stiff, or have lesions that affect vibration differently than sound production.