Eigenfolds: a new approach for analysis of vibrating vocal folds

In this paper we present a new approach for analysis and visualization of the vibration patterns of vocal folds from high-speed digital images of the larynx. This approach is based on registration using the vocal fold medial axis and a singular value decomposition (SVD) of the resulting time sequence of amplitude measurements of the vocal folds vibrations. The resulting components of the SVD separate the spatial and temporal behavior of the vibration pattern and allow accurate visualization of important features of the vibration patterns. Examples are given using both real and synthetic high-speed laryngeal sequences where the advantages of the proposed approach are demonstrated.