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Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) measures obtained from voice recordings simultaneously using oral and smartphone microphones in a sound-proof room, and to compare them with AVQIs obtained from the same smartphone voice recordings with added ambient noise., Methods: A study group of 183 subjects with normal voices (n = 86) and various voice disorders (n = 97) was asked to read aloud a standard text and sustain the vowel /a/. The controlled ambient noise averaged at 29.61 dB SPL was added digitally to the smartphone voice recordings. Repeated measures analysis of variances (ANOVA) with Greenhouse-Geiser correction was used to evaluate AVQI changes within subjects. To evaluate the level of agreement between AVQI measurements obtained from different voice recordings Bland-Altman plots were used., Results: Repeated measures ANOVA showed that differences among AVQI results obtained from voice recordings done with oral studio microphone, recordings done with a smartphone microphone, and recordings done with a smartphone microphone with added ambient noise were not statistically significant (P = 0.07). No significant systemic differences and acceptable level of random errors in AVQI measurements of voice recordings made with oral and smartphone microphones (including added noise) were revealed., Conclusion: The AVQI measures obtained from smartphone microphones voice recordings with experimentally added ambient noise revealed an acceptable agreement with results of oral microphone recordings, thus suggesting the suitability of smartphone microphone recordings performed even in the presence of acceptable ambient noise for estimation of AVQI., (Copyright © 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic value of the combination of Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and Glottal Function Index (GFI) as a screening tool for voice disorders, and to compare the AVQI measurements obtained using oral and smartphone (SP) microphones., Methods: A study group consisted of 183 adult individuals including 86 subjects with normal voice and 97 patients with pathological voice. Voice recordings were performed simultaneously with an oral AKG Perception 220 and SP iPhone 6s microphones. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy differentiating normal and pathological voice, the receiver-operating characteristic statistics [area under curve (AUC), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-)], and correct classification rate (CCR) were used., Results: The AVQI cut-off scores of 3.31 for oral and 3.32 for SP microphones were associated with very good test accuracy (AUC = 0.857 and AUC = 0.818), resulting in balance between sensitivity and specificity (70.0% vs 86.0% and 70% vs 87.0%). The CCR reached 78%. The combined AVQI and GFI cut-off scores of 6.65 for oral and 7.1 for SP microphones corresponded with excellent test accuracy (AUC = 0.976 and AUC = 0.965) and sensitivity and specificity (93.0% vs 93.0% and 91.0% vs 94%). Very respectable levels of LR+ and LR- both for oral microphone (13.3 and 0.08) and for SP microphone (15.6 and 0.10) voice recordings were achieved. CCRs of 93% and 92% confirmed the results of ROC statistics., Conclusions: Combination of AVQI and GFI measurements significantly improved diagnostic accuracy in differentiating normal vs pathological voice.

Objectives: The Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) are commonly used in research and clinical practice to quantify voice quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of gender and age on AVQI and again on DSI., Methods: In total, 123 vocally healthy adults (68 females, 55 males, and age ranging between 20 and 79 years) were evaluated., Results: Gender had no effects on AVQI and DSI (both P values > 0.05). Additionally, AVQI showed no significant correlation with age (P > 0.05, r 2  = 0.008). However, DSI had a statistically significant correlation with age (P < 0.05), with 5% of the variance in DSI explained by the variance in age., Conclusions: AVQI values do not depend on gender and age. DSI values do not depend on gender but correlated slightly with age. This finding confirms earlier research., (Copyright © 2019 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the feasibility and robustness of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) in diagnostic accuracy, differentiating normal and dysphonic voices., Methods: A group of 264 subjects with normal voices (n = 105) and with various voice disorders (n = 159) were asked to read aloud a text and to sustain the vowel /a/. Both speech tasks were concatenated, and perceptually rated for dysphonia severity by five voice clinicians. They rated the Grade (G) and the overall dysphonia severity with a visual analog scale (VAS). All concatenated voice samples were acoustically analyzed to receive an AVQI score. For DSI analysis, the required voice parameters were obtained from the sustained phonation of the vowel /a/., Results: The results achieved significant and marked concurrent validity between both auditory-perceptual judgment procedures and both acoustic voice measures. The DSI threshold (i.e., DSI = 3.30) pertaining to G mean obtained reasonable sensitivity of 85.8% and specificity of 83.4%. For VAS mean , the DSI threshold of 3.30 was determined also with reasonable sensitivity of 70.3% and excellent specificity of 93.9%. Also, the AVQI threshold (i.e., AVQI = 3.31) pertaining to G mean demonstrated reasonable sensitivity of 78.1% and excellent specificity of 92.0%. For VAS mean , an AVQI threshold of 3.33 was determined with excellent sensitivity of 97.0% and reasonable specificity of 81.8%., Conlusion: The outcomes of the present study indicate comparable results between DSI and AVQI with a high level of validity to discriminate between normal and dysphonic voices. However, a higher level of accuracy was yielded for AVQI as a correlate of auditory perceptual judgment suggesting a reliable voice screening potential of AVQI.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to validate the Acoustic Voice Quality Index in Lithuanian language (AVQI-LT) and investigate the feasibility and robustness of its diagnostic accuracy, differentiating normal and dysphonic voice., Methods: A total of 184 native Lithuanian subjects with normal voices (n = 46) and with various voice disorders (n = 138) were asked to read aloud the Lithuanian text and to sustain the vowel /a/. A sentence with 13 syllables and a 3-second midvowel portion of the sustained vowel were edited. Both speech tasks were concatenated, and perceptually rated for dysphonia severity by five voice clinicians. They rated the Grade (G) from the Grade Roughness Breathiness Asthenia Strain (GRBAS) protocol and the overall severity from the Consensus Auditory-perceptual Evaluation of Voice protocol with a visual analog scale (VAS). The average scores (G mean and VAS mean ) were taken as the perceptual dysphonia severity level for every voice sample. All concatenated voice samples were acoustically analyzed to receive an AVQI-LT score., Results: Both auditory-perceptual judgment procedures showed sufficient strength of agreement between five raters. The results achieved significant and marked concurrent validity between both auditory-perceptual judgment procedures and AVQI-LT. The diagnostic accuracy of AVQI-LT showed for both auditory-perceptual judgment procedures comparable results with two different AVQI-LT thresholds. The AVQI-LT threshold of 2.97 for the G mean rating obtained reasonable sensitivity = 0.838 and excellent specificity = 0.937. For the VAS rating, an AVQI-LT threshold of 3.48 was determined with sensitivity = 0.840 and specificity = 0.922., Conclusions: The AVQI-LT is considered a valid and reliable tool for assessing the dysphonia severity level in Lithuanian-speaking population., (Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)