The production of voice involves the synergistic interaction of complex structures within both the vocal and the respiratory system. During phonation, vocal folds are subjected to periodic deformation and collision forces, which may result in a perceived vocal fatigue, especially after a prolonged vocal effort. On this ground, vocal dosimetry was proved to be an important tool for quantifying the exposure of vocal folds tissue to self-induced vibration. Nevertheless, an evaluation of phonation based only on vocal parameters is far from being exhaustive as it does not consider the effectiveness of the use of respiratory muscles in producing sounds. In this scenario, the simultaneous monitoring of sounds production and breathing patterns in professional singers during their artistic activity can allow exploring how they develop effective singing modalities by optimizing vocal production with minimal effort breathing patterns. Therefore, the aim of this study is to design and develop a novel portable device able to monitor simultaneously vocal activity and breathing pattern without interfering with natural singing, i.e. allowing measurements without masks, microphones in front of the subjects, etc. The system, based on the combination of MEMS accelerometers to measure vocal doses from skin vibrations nearby vocal chords and respiratory inductive plethysmography to monitor breathing by measuring chest wall displacements, was firstly evaluated and validated in-vitro, to determine its reliability, accuracy and performances. After this, the device was tested on a group of 19 professional singers and 6 non-trained subjects during the controlled execution of vocal tasks and choir ensemble rehearsal. The tests confirmed that the system is accurate, suitable for long-term monitoring, easy to be worn and able to grant freedom of movements during the artistic activity. This novel device opens new perspective for evaluating a singing mode by combining the information relative to vocal doses with the adopted breathing technique, obtaining not only the functional assessment of both compartments, but also an overall evaluation of the efficiency of the performance.
La voce nasce dall’interazione sinergica di strutture complesse appartenenti a due diversi sistemi, quello vocale e quello respiratorio. Durante la fonazione, le corde vocali sono soggette a deformazioni periodiche e a forze di collisione, che possono portare ad un affaticamento vocale, specialmente dopo uno sforzo in voce prolungato. In questo contesto, la dosimetria vocale risulta uno strumento importante per quantificare l’esposizione delle corde vocali a vibrazioni autoindotte. Nonostante questo, una valutazione della fonazione basata esclusivamente su parametri vocali non può essere esaustiva, poiché non considera l’effettivo contributo dei muscoli respiratori nella produzione di suoni. In questo scenario, il monitoraggio simultaneo della voce e dei pattern respiratori adottati da cantanti professionisti durante la loro attività artistica potrebbe consentire la valutazione di una modalità di canto efficiente, ottimizzando la produzione di voce con il minimo sforzo respiratorio. Lo scopo principale di questo lavoro di tesi è stato quindi la progettazione e lo sviluppo di un nuovo dispositivo portatile in grado di monitorare contemporaneamente l’attività vocale e quella respiratoria durante il canto, senza interferire con le naturali abitudini dei soggetti. Il dispositivo combina accelerometri MEMs e Pletismografia Respiratoria Induttiva per ottenere informazioni sulle vibrazioni trasmesse alla pelle dalle corde vocali e sullo spostamento della gabbia toracica. Il sistema è stato testato in vitro per valutarne affidabilità, accuratezza e prestazioni. Successivamente, 19 cantanti professionisti e 6 soggetti di controllo sono stati monitorati nell’esecuzione controllata di esercizi vocali e durante una prova di coro. I test effettuati confermano l’accuratezza del dispositivo, mentre il design ridotto lo rende adatto per monitoraggi a lungo termine, garantendo la libertà di movimento. I risultati ottenuti dai soggetti monitorati fino ad oggi aprono nuove prospettive nella valutazione complessiva delle performance durante diverse modalità di canto, combinando informazioni relative alle dosi vocali con quelle relative alle tecniche respiratorie adottate.
A novel device for monitoring vocal doses and breathing pattern during singing
CUNSOLO, FRANCESCA
2018/2019
Abstract
The production of voice involves the synergistic interaction of complex structures within both the vocal and the respiratory system. During phonation, vocal folds are subjected to periodic deformation and collision forces, which may result in a perceived vocal fatigue, especially after a prolonged vocal effort. On this ground, vocal dosimetry was proved to be an important tool for quantifying the exposure of vocal folds tissue to self-induced vibration. Nevertheless, an evaluation of phonation based only on vocal parameters is far from being exhaustive as it does not consider the effectiveness of the use of respiratory muscles in producing sounds. In this scenario, the simultaneous monitoring of sounds production and breathing patterns in professional singers during their artistic activity can allow exploring how they develop effective singing modalities by optimizing vocal production with minimal effort breathing patterns. Therefore, the aim of this study is to design and develop a novel portable device able to monitor simultaneously vocal activity and breathing pattern without interfering with natural singing, i.e. allowing measurements without masks, microphones in front of the subjects, etc. The system, based on the combination of MEMS accelerometers to measure vocal doses from skin vibrations nearby vocal chords and respiratory inductive plethysmography to monitor breathing by measuring chest wall displacements, was firstly evaluated and validated in-vitro, to determine its reliability, accuracy and performances. After this, the device was tested on a group of 19 professional singers and 6 non-trained subjects during the controlled execution of vocal tasks and choir ensemble rehearsal. The tests confirmed that the system is accurate, suitable for long-term monitoring, easy to be worn and able to grant freedom of movements during the artistic activity. This novel device opens new perspective for evaluating a singing mode by combining the information relative to vocal doses with the adopted breathing technique, obtaining not only the functional assessment of both compartments, but also an overall evaluation of the efficiency of the performance.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2019_10_CUNSOLO.pdf
non accessibile
Descrizione: Testo della tesi
Dimensione
35.09 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
35.09 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/150113