Ultrasonic measurement of lateral pharyngeal wall movement at the velopharyngeal port.

Pulsed ultrasound was used to assess lateral pharyngeal wall (LPW) movement at the level of the velopharyngeal port in three adult males and two adult females. All subjects were normal talkers, and data were collected while each produced all combinations of the vowels /a/ and /i/ and consonants /p, t, k, s, m, n/ in a VCVCV context. On a qualitative basis, it appears that ultrasound technology has potential application for the measurement of LPW movement. However, a number of problems must be resolved before ultrasonic techniques surpass current methods of studying velopharyngeal function and/or incompetence.