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COMMUNIKAY Vol. 8, No. 2
Kay Elemetrics Corp. regrets to report the death of its founder, Elmo Edward “Bud” Crump, who passed away February 22, 2002. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 1, 1916, Mr. Crump was graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in electrical engineering. Throughout World War II, Mr. Crump worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories on fire control radar for the Navy. He held numerous patents in this field. In 1948, Mr. Crump, along with a partner, founded Kay Electric Co. in Pine Brook, New Jersey. Kay Electric became a major innovator in the electronics field and a supplier of instrumentation to industry and the US government. In 1951, Kay Electric was licensed by Bell Labs to develop the first commercial version of the sound spectrograph, the Sona-Graph. The Sona-Graph became the preeminent instrument in the acoustic analysis of speech, cryptograph signals, and animal vocalizations such as whale, bird, and dolphin communications. Most major universities throughout the world also used the Sona-Graph for linguistic analysis. In 1970, Kay Electric was incorporated as Kay Elemetrics Corp., with Mr. Crump as its president. It was then that Kay began to develop the speech therapy, voice, and swallowing analysis instrumentation for which it is so widely recognized today. Mr. Crump officially retired in 1994 but remained active in the business for consulting and selected engineering projects. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary; a brother; two sisters; nine children; 25 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. Hit TV Series Features Sona-Graph The season premiere of the NBC series “Law & Order” prominently featured Kay’s products both in the forensic lab and in a courtroom scene. The episode, American Jihad, in which the misapplication of religion and politics leads to a double homicide, launched the 13th season of the acclaimed crime drama. In the courtroom, an expert witness testified that the sound was analyzed using Kay Elemetrics’ Digital Sona-Graph, Model 5500, which confirmed the pitch and formant trajectories and matched the voiceprint to the defendant. According to Kay’s sales manager, Stephen Crump, “When the producers of ‘Law & Order’ asked investigators in the forensics community whom to contact for voice identification instrumentation, Kay was the name they all gave. We were delighted to help with this episode of the show.” “Law & Order” is television’s longest-running current drama. It won the 1997 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Hoffman-Ruddy, Bari, Jeffrey Lehman, Carl Crandell, David Ingram, and Christine Sapienza. “Laryngoscopic, Acoustic, and Environmental Characteristics of High-Risk Vocal Performers,” Journal of Voice, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 543-552, December, 2001. High risk vocal performers are often exposed to unique vocal abuse characteristics. Three categories of high-risk performers were studied: musical theater, choral ensemble, and street theater. For each of these studied groups vocal tasks of sustained production of /i/ and /a/ were subjected to analysis. Acoustic measures included fundamental frequency, standard deviation of fundamental frequency, jitter percent, shimmer percent, and noise-to-harmonic ratio. Laryngostroboscopic parameters were assessed during sustained /i/. Environmental acoustic sound field measurements were made using an A weighting and linear weighting sound pressure level. Results of the analysis suggest that high-risk performers are a unique performance type defined by distinctive, acoustic, laryngostroboscopic, and environmental characteristics. The Computerized Speech Lab (CSL), Model 4300B, and Multi-Dimensional Voice Program
(MDVP) were used for acoustic analysis in this study. For videostroboscopic analysis of the singers, Kay’s Computer-Integrated Stroboscopy system was used. A method is presented for examining change in motor patterns used to produce linguistic contrasts. In this case study, the method is applied to a child receiving new auditory input following cochlear implantation. This child experienced hearing loss at age 3 years and received a multi-channel cochlear implant at age 7 years. Data collection points occurred both pre- and postimplant and included acoustic and kinematic analysis. Overall, this child’s speech output was transcribed as accurate across the pre- and postimplant periods. Postimplant, with the onset of new auditory experience, acoustic durations showed a predictable maturational change, usually decreasing in duration. Conversely, the spatiotemporal stability of speech movements initially became more variable postimplantation. The auditory perturbations experienced by this child during development led to changes in the physiological underpinnings of speech production, even when speech output was perceived as accurate. The CSL, Model 4300B, was used for acquisition of speech samples and acoustic analysis performed in this study.
Chen, Yang, Michael P. Robb, and Harvey R. Gilbert. “Electroglottographic Evaluation of Gender and Vowel Effects During Modal and Vocal Fry Phonation,” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 45, pp. 821-829, October, 2002.
Roy, Nelson, Barbara Weinrich, Steven D. Gray, Kristine Tanner, Sue Walker Toledo, Heather Dove, Kim Corbin-Lewis, and Joseph C. Stemple. “Voice Amplification Versus Vocal Hygiene Instruction for Teachers With Voice Disorders: A Treatment Outcomes Study,” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 45, pp. 625-638, August, 2002. Chang, Soo-Eun, Ralph N. Ohde, and Edward G. Conture. “Coarticulation and Formant Transition Rate in Young Children Who Stutter,” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 45, pp. 676-688, August, 2002. Hoffman, Henry, Daniel McCabe, Timothy McCulloch, Sung M. Jin, and Michael Karnell. “Laryngeal Collagen Injection as an Adjunct to Medialization Laryngoplasty,” Laryngoscope, 112, pp. 1407-1413, August 2002. Cichero, Julie A. Y. and Bruce E. Murdoch. “Acoustic Signature of the Normal Swallow: Characterization by Age, Gender, and Bolus Volume,” Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology, Vol. 111 (7), pp. 623-632, July 2002. Branski, Ryan C., Neil Bhattacharyya, and Jo Sharpiro. “The Reliability of the Assessment of Endoscopic Laryngeal Findings Associated with Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease,” Laryngoscope, Vol.112, pp. 1019-1024, June 2002. Pearl, Adam W., Peak Woo, Rosemary Ostrowski, Jackie Mojica, David Mandell, and Peter Costantino. “A Preliminary Report on Micronized AlloDerm Injection Laryngoplasty,” Laryngoscope, Vol. 112, pp. 990-996, June 2002. Robb, Michael P. and Allan B. Smith. “Fundamental Frequency Onset and Offset Behavior: A Comparative Study of Children and Adults,” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 45, pp. 446-456, June, 2002. Logan, Kenneth J., Rosalyn R. Roberts, Aneesha P. Pretto, and Megan J. Morey. “Speaking Slowly: Effects of Four Self-Guided Training Approaches on Adults’ Speech Rate and Naturalness,” American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, Vol. 11, pp. 163-174, May, 2002. Van Lierde, Kristiane, John Van Borsel, and Mieke Moerman. “Nasalance, Nasality, Voice, and Articulation After Uvulopalato-pharyngoplasty,” Laryngoscope, Vol. 112, pp. 873-878, May, 2002. Searl, Jeffrey P. and Mary A. Carpenter. “Acoustic Cues to the Voicing Feature in Tracheoesophageal Speech,” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 45, pp. 282-294, April, 2002. Q. Is there an incompatibility between CSL software, version 2.5, and older CSL software options I have with my system? “Backup” refers to your computer’s database and is an equally critical task to be performed regularly depending on your system. The database (which resides on the C drive, and is different from the video hard drive) contains all patient/exam information and its location. If you do not back up regularly and something happens to your hard drive, your database cannot be restored, and exams cannot be retrieved. You should back up at least weekly, and even daily in busy clinical settings. Restoring your database, in the event of a system problem, is only as good as your last backup. Note that the more recently shipped Digital Strobe and Digital Swallowing Workstations have an automatic database backup process (to a separate hard drive); these users will not need to back up their databases as an additional process. If you are unsure of the backup status of your system, check your documentation or contact Kay at
service@kayelemetrics.com. Updating Kay’s Analog Imaging Systems to Digital For the stroboscopy system, the VCR, computer, and VGA monitor can be set aside as a viewing station for your old exams. For the digital upgrade, a new PC with digital video capturing hardware, and new software, are provided. Your original stroboscope and peripheral items can still be used with the new digital system, though most customers also upgrade to a new camera (required to maintain PC control). For swallowing systems, the VCR, computer and VGA monitor are also set aside to review old fluoroscopic or FEES studies. As above, a new PC and new software are provided in the upgrade. However, your Swallowing Signals Lab (along with peripheral components) and all endoscopy equipment can be used with the new digital technology with just a few modifications. Again, by retrofitting existing hardware to the new digital design, significant savings can result while updating to the new, powerful technology provided by the digital systems. Kay will continue to support the analog systems as long as possible; however, because replacement components are becoming difficult to source (some parts are already obsolete), customers should consider budgeting to upgrade to the new digital technology in the near future.
Kay is pleased to announce that Osamu Fujimura, D.Sc., Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Ohio State University, has been honored as the recipient of the 2001 Kay Elemetrics Award for Phonetics by the International Society of Phonetic Sciences. Prof. Fujimura was selected by members of the Society as the Outstanding Phonetician of the year. The award was presented to Fujimura on May 24, 2002, for his contributions to the field of phonetic science. Previous winners have included: Kay is proud to sponsor this award, which is considered to be the finest in its field.
Kay Collaborates with Smiletrain in China Smiletrain is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping poor children with cleft lip and palate internationally. Among the goals of Smiletrain are to provide free surgery for children who cannot afford it and to foster self-sufficiency through free training and education. Kay Elemetrics is assisting the Smiletrain activities in rural China where many children do not have access to cleft lip and palate care. Kay is providing an instrumentation grant to a key medical center based on applications currently being submitted. The grant will be awarded in January 2003. Included in the instrumentation grant from Kay will be a computer, Nasometer II, and Sona-Speech. These instruments are used in leading clinics throughout the world for assessment and treatment of children with cleft after they have undergone surgery. Specifically, the Nasometer II provides an objective means of assessing the patient’s nasality acoustically and also provides visual feedback in helping patients modify resonance and articulation patterns. Sona-Speech is a more general-purpose speech-therapy tool with visual feedback and measurement of key speech parameters.Grant applicants have been encouraged to include the incorporation of instrumentation usage with their cleft patients such as normative studies and treatment approaches. Reviewing the grant applications from Smiletrain will be Linda D’Antonio, Ph.D., (Loma Linda University). Also on the review committee are Rodger Dalston, Ph.D., (University of Texas - Austin), and Robert McClurkin (Kay Elemetrics Corp.). Both Drs. D’Antonio and Dalston have been active members in the American Cleft Palate Association for many years and use this instrumentation clinically.
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