Measurements of the contact pressure in human vocal folds

The contact pressure experienced by human vocal folds during phonation is usually considered as the most likely source of phonotrauma. Direct contact pressure measurements using pressure sensors were attempted, although some interference with vocal folds oscillation was found to occur. A nonintrusive approach for the contact pressure estimation from high speed images was therefore investigated, based on a Hertzian Impact model. A verification study of the accuracy of this method was performed. Results from the nonintrusive approach were compared with results from direct measurements using a physical model of the human vocal folds. The accuracy of the estimated contact pressure from the nonintrusive method was found to be acceptable. Disadvantages and possible sources of error are discussed.