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COMMUNIKAY Vol. 3, No. 3
Acoustic Rhinometer Marketed by Kay Kay Elemetrics is pleased to announce the addition of the ECCOVISION Acoustic Rhinometer to its product line. Designed by Hood Laboratories in Pembroke, Massachusetts, the product graphs and quantifies the patency of the nasal airway by means of acoustic reflection; both site and degree of airway obstruction can be determined by the simple, noninvasive diagnostic procedure. Kay is now the exclusive distributor of the system in North America. Acoustic rhinometry is used primarily by otolaryngologists, allergists, and plastic surgeons who benefit from this innovative technique to accurately assess the geometry of the nasal cavity. By coupling a reflection tube to the nose and administering a series of clicks controlled by the program, the computer-based system is able to plot the timing and amplitudes of the reflected signal into an easy-to-interpret graph of the nasal airway. Applications of the technique include assessing airway patency, the site/degree of airway obstruction, airway responsiveness to therapeutic intervention (e.g., antihistamines), and indications for surgery and surgical outcome (e.g., polyps, septal deformities, and turbinate hypertrophy). The technique provides more information than traditional rhinomanometry which does not provide clinical data on site or degree of obstruction; furthermore, the procedure is very easy to administer and interpret. ECCOVISION has been cleared by the FDA. Product literature, a bibliography, application materials, and pricing information are available upon request. CSL Used in Study of Canadian Orca Community From a land-based whale research station on Hanson Island in the area of northern Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada, the comings and goings of the 216-member northern resident community of British Columbia orca are monitored by a staff of student volunteers nearly 24 hours a day, winter, summer, spring, and fall. According to Dr. Paul Spong, director of ORCALAB, "Part of what is so interesting is that orca are acoustic animals who use sounds, or calls, to communicate with one another." In fact, acoustic information is one of the keys to understanding this rather unique, matrilineal social group. Research shows that each of the 37 family groups present possesses a number of traditional calls or dialects passed down from generation to generation. "The longevity of these traditions," adds Spong, "goes back hundreds of years, and provide a long-term stability to the social essence of the population." Family groups may spend their entire lives together, because even adult sons, these huge powerful animals, remain with their mothers throughout the course of their lives. A number of hydrophone stations, underwater microphones, hooked up to radio transmitters, are used to monitor the acoustic environment. By listening in on the core habitat, Orcalab can detect the presence of orca when they come into the area. The reason for this, Spong explains, is that they are usually vocal when they arrive. "In fact," he says, "without even seeing them, just by listening to them, we are able to get a lot of information about which family groups are there." Orca families are organized into pods, comprised basically of sisters and their close cousins. These extended families share elements of their dialects with one another that they don’t share with less closely related family members. Families which share elements of their dialects with one another belong to the same "clan". Because orca use dialects unique to their own families, or clans, it is easy to determine which groups are present at any given time in the core habitat. However, computer processing techniques, particularly spectrograms, are needed to help detect some of the finer differences in their vocalizations. And that is where the CSL system comes in. "We have used the CSL for a number of years now," notes Spong. "It’s a great tool for discriminating a number of differences which are not totally obvious to the human ear." Spong is quick to point out that acoustic analysis is not just valuable as an identification feature, it’s important in studying the evolution of dialects as well. In 1989, for example, there was a birth in one family which resulted in a new sound for that particular family. That sound is now the major hallmark of that family, known as the A12 subgroup. Says Spong, "The acoustic story is really fascinating, and it’s really complex. And, while our ears are good to some extent, we need technology to help us beyond that. We like the CSL system a lot. We can take a series of calls, and then generate quick spectrograms, our primary analysis tool. It’s very important when you record thousands of hours of tape." ORCALAB often records virtually 24 hours a day. But the long hours are paying off. "We are just starting to unravel the picture," admits Spong. "Clearly, the social coordination that orca have worked out is fascinating, be it arranging meetings, or patterns of movement, or who socializes with whom. And as we develop our technical capabilities even further, we will find things out about orca that are really quite exciting." Questions? Problems? Get in Touch. Or Pay Us a Visit! Service and support. Both important considerations when purchasing sophisticated instrumentation. And both hallmarks of Kay’s ongoing commitment to customers. "Can I actually get in touch with someone at the factory for a simple user question?" you may ask yourself. "Can I get a technical problem addressed?" "Will someone respond in a timely manner if an answer is not immediately available?" All of these questions and more can be answered in the affirmative when contacting Kay for help. Not only is telephone support a priority at Kay, so, too, are our other customer-support activities, among them—a World Wide Web site (at www.kayelemetrics.com) and free In-House Training and Demonstrations at our facility in Lincoln Park, NJ. Kay also offers a CSL Training Workshop and an Advanced Stroboscopy Workshop at various times throughout the year. All of these provide opportunities for hands-on training and for acquiring knowledge of Kay products. Visiting New York? Kay encourages visitors to stop by whenever they pass through the New York metropolitan area. In recent weeks, customers from Barbados, Portugal, Brazil, Korea, Turkey, and Thailand have all come by for personal tours and or training. Graduate speech science classes from Columbia and Montclair State University have also availed themselves of their close proximity to Kay to tour our plant and to receive brief product overviews. And you, too, are welcome whenever you’re in town. If travel’s not an option, and you have questions or problems, find out just how easy it is to contact us. Our toll-free number is 1-800-289-5297 (in USA and Canada only). International customers can reach us by phone (201) 628-6200 or by fax (201) 628-6363. Woo, P. "Quantification of Videostroboscopic Findings-Measurements of the Normal Glottal Cycle." Laryngoscope, Vol. 106, No. 3, Part 2, Supplement No. 79, March 1996. This is a 27-page monograph which provides a thorough description of Glottal Area Waveform (GAW) analysis applied to videostroboscopic exams of 65 normal subjects. Implications for usage with disordered voices are also discussed by the author. GAW is one of the parameters available in the KSIP (Kay Stroboscopic Image Processing) software option for the Computerized RLS Stroboscopy system. Shuster, Linda I. "Linear Predictive Coding Parameter Manipulation/Synthesis of Incorrectly Produced /r/." Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, Volume 39, pp. 827-832, August 1996. This article describes how children’s incorrectly produced /r/ utterances were manipulated by changing formants to produce quality synthesized utterances. The new utterances were perceived as correct /r/ productions. Implications for perceptual testing and clinical applications are discussed. The CSL synthesis (ASL) option, based on Linear Predictive Coding, was used in the study. Anderson, Raquel T. "Nasometric Values for Normal Spanish-Speaking Females: A Preliminary Report." Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, Vol. 33, No. 4, July 1996. The author discusses preliminary normative data collection considerations for Spanish female speakers. The article complements other normative studies conducted on non-English speakers using the Nasometer. I have been using Visi-Pitch II (v. 1.02) and have experienced a data capture problem with the Hummingbird game in the Pitch and Energy Games module. Are you aware of this problem and is there a fix for it? Yes. Since releasing v. 1.02 last spring, Kay has become aware of three potential problems (e.g., data capture or program locking up) which may occur in certain computers. Two of these occur in the Games module (Hummingbird and Croaker games), and one has been observed when using a 90 msec delay in the Delayed Auditory Feedback module (other delay rates work okay). These software bugs may not be observed in all computer systems. However, Kay has released a new version of software (v. 1.03) which addresses these problems in every computer environment that has been tried. The update is available to Visi-Pitch II customers at no charge by calling the Customer Service department (ext. 160) or by e-mail to: service@kayelemetrics.com. In a recent communication on the Internet, I noticed that the video portion of the Swallowing Workstation was described as being "field-accurate". How does that differ from "frame-accurate"? Standard NTSC video signals (used in USA) contain 30 frames per second (the PAL format used in Europe contains 25 frames). Each frame consists of two fields (one odd field, one even field). When you pause a recording on your VCR for detailed analysis of a swallowing study, you are viewing a field of data. However, when you jog forward in time, most VCRs advance a full frame per jog (e.g., from the odd field of one frame to the odd field of the next frame). This limits your temporal resolution to 1/30 second when reviewing an exam. The new VCR currently supplied with the Swallowing Workstation jogs field-by-field providing 1/60 second resolution. This improves the timing accuracy used in video measurements (e.g., duration of various events) and correlational measurements (e.g., comparing video and waveform data). The term field-accurate is used to designate this improved temporal resolution. How can I load vowels from other languages into the Sona-Match program? The Sona-Match program, which is a CSL option and a standard module (Sibilant and Vowel Training) within Visi-Pitch II, allows users to customize the cardinal vowel chart for therapy and teaching applications. Specifically, users may customize the chart for their (or a client’s) production of English vowels, or to add vowels from other languages based on any speaker’s production of the sound(s) of interest. To do so, proceed as follows: In Vowel Chart Mode, capture a sustained vowel of interest (e.g., your own, or a client’s best production of a vowel for therapy or foreign language instruction). With captured data on screen (red dots), place the mouse pointer in the middle of the plotted (red) area and click the left mouse button (this will serve as a marker). Then click the right mouse button to access the IPA vowel chart. Click on the vowel symbol which corresponds to the sound you or the client has just produced. If this is a new vowel not currently on the chart (e.g., a foreign vowel), it will be positioned where you clicked the left mouse button, as instructed above. If it is an existing vowel on the chart (which you are modifying), the program asks you to confirm that you wish to relocate it to the new position. Once you have modified the vowel chart, save it by clicking on Chart on the Main Menu, then Save Vowel Table; type in filename. If you now change to the Frequency Response Mode, the program defaults back to the factory vowel chart (i.e., it does not carry over any previous vowel template you may have loaded). Press ALT-F5 to load the new vowel chart to enable the program to recognize the phonated vowels from your custom-made chart. When to change the strobe (xenon) bulb The xenon (flashing) bulb in your strobe system will not burn out (as a tungsten bulb in your home), but its brightness will gradually decrease over time. At what point, then, is diminished light output detrimental to image quality during a patient exam? According to the bulb manufacturer’s specifications, the bulb has a life of 50 hours (at which time the bulb has at least 50% of its original output), or about 300 exams. In practice, the life of the bulb depends on the endoscope used. With the Kay rigid endoscope (and others), the bulb is probably usable the entire 50 hours (or more) without sacrificing image quality. You may need to increase the camera gain setting (and update your camera/endoscope files if using the computerized strobe system) when you begin to notice darker images. However, with flexible endoscopes, where camera gain may already be set to high, darker, but perhaps still usable, images may appear at around 25-30 hours. Ultimately, it depends on your clinical practice and judgment as to when the xenon bulb requires replacement. Some users prefer flexible endoscopy and change the bulbs at 25-30 hours (about 200 exams). Others use the rigid endoscope for stroboscopy, and halogen light for flexible exams. In these cases, the xenon bulb needs changing less frequently. Although you (or, preferably, a biomedical technician) can replace the bulb, we recommend sending the unit (strobe box only) back to the factory for optimal bulb replacement/adjustment. If you do replace the bulb, heed all warnings in the documentation. For assistance with bulb replacement, call Technical Support (ext. 144). Portable FEES System: Instrumental Assessment at Remote Sites Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) has been shown to be a valuable technique for assisting in swallowing evaluations, particularly at remote sites where fluoroscopy is often not available. The technique has also been used in therapy as a visual display for patients learning various swallowing maneuvers (see Kay’s Swallowing Workstation bibliography, available on request, for FEES references). The standard FEES system offered by Kay is mobile within a facility (i.e., it can be rolled to bedside), but cannot be easily transported to satellite clinics, nursing homes, etc. The Portable FEES System (Model 7195) enables a clinician to place the entire system in an average-sized car trunk or van for transport to other facilities. Consisting of a light source, endoscope, monitor, camera, and 8mm video recorder, the entire system is assembled within two stackable cases (with covers) which are placed on a collapsible cart. The system can be removed from a car, rolled into a facility, and assembled in minutes. The portable unit is separated into two boxes, the collapsible cart, and the endoscope case so that no single component is burdensome to lift when assembling or transporting. For further information on the Portable FEES System, or about FEES training workshops, contact a Kay product specialist. Please look for Kay products on display at the following conferences, workshops, and congresses. Editor’s note: This is a partial listing of the upcoming events that Kay will be attending. Please check the next issue for additions to this list.
Newly Released Laryngeal Pathology Video-Text Package Now Available Many Kay customers will be interested in obtaining The Atlas of Dynamic Laryngeal Pathology by Dr. C. Richard Stasney, M.D., F.A.C.S., of the Texas Voice Center, Baylor College of Medicine, which has been published recently by Singular Publishing Group (San Diego, California). The package will serve as a valuable reference for otolaryngologists, speech-language pathologists, and voice scientists. The package contains a 144-page atlas/manual with more than 100 color photos and prints accompanied by a 78-minute videotape. Both are designed to assist in the development of diagnostic skills for evaluating laryngeal pathology. The videostroboscopic examinations can be conveniently cross-referenced to the atlas which provides important information about what is observed in the recordings. Using videostroboscopy and Kay’s Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (a CSL software option designed for use in the voice clinic), the author presents 86 cases which serve to demonstrate a wide variety of laryngeal disease as well as normal laryngeal function. The package is available from Singular Publishing Group (1-800-521-8545) at a cost of
$175. Kay stroboscopy customers can order the package from Kay at a discounted price of
$88 plus shipping and handling. Please contact a Kay product specialist for further
information.
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