Selected acoustic characteristics of pathologic and normal speakers.

The purpose of this study was to determine if measures of speaking fundamental frequency and its perturbation could be useful in differentiating talkers with no known vocal pathology and talkers with cancer of the larynx. Ten male subjects, five with a diagnosed malignancy of the larynx and five with normal voice, produced speech samples from which five voice production measures were obtained: the average speaking fundamental frequency (SFF), SFF variability during the reading of a sentence, the fo of a sustained vowel and a percent and magnitude jitter value. The perturbation factors, both directional and magnitudinal, during sustained vowels were found to be significant in discriminating normal talkers from those with laryngeal cancer. The speaking fundamental frequency and its variability during the reading of a sentence improved the discriminant function.