lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus

?At last, there is professional phonetography software that meets the requirements of logopedic services, complies with the common standards and provides an objective and conclusive basis for cooperation with ENT specialists, phoniatricians and health insurance.
Ingolf Franke, WEVOSYS

lingWAVES - Modular construction kit for voice diagnostics and therapy

If you want to rely on a time-tested scalable system that has proved useful for voice and speech signal analysis, then lingWAVES is the right choice for professional daily work. Like a construction kit, lingWAVES consists of one basic module (lingWAVES Recorder) and a number of analysis and therapy modules that can be freely integrated to produce a modular application in accordance to your requirements. With this concept, you are prepared for the future: the modular design of lingWAVES enables functional expansion to take place on demand (e.g. for therapy or clinical usage) by adding modules to the accustomed basis. There is no need to switch to other programs and change over to other concepts of use.

The lingWAVES construction kit for voice analysis: You can select and/or add applications in accordance to your individual needs and enjoy the advantages of an integrated, time-saving and efficient concept of use.

lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus Set

The lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus Set offers a standardized and approved phonetography procedure (voice range profile measurement) as it is commonly imparted in educational establishments for speech therapists, ENT specialists and phoniatricians. The set employs newest scientific techniques to reliably register the fundamental frequency range (for pitch) and the range of the sound pressure level (for intensity) of a singing, speaking and shouting voice. Special recording technique allows for high precision, variable measurement and display of intensity and pitch in real time. The lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus software helps considerably to reduce time needed to produce a phonetogram. An automated phonetogram registration can be accomplished in 5-10 minutes. Want to know how to make a phonetogram registration with lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus?

A mouse click brings up the Phonetogram Plus module window. The program contains an option to hide or show norm phonetograms:

The lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus template with an overlayed norm phonetogram (male).

A phonetogram (voice range profile) registration starts with measuring the singing voice profile. The examinee can sing sustained tones freely (all possible combinations of fundamental frequency and intensity). Alternatively, the examinee can be requested to match tones produced by the examiner on a keyboard. The measured values for pitch and intensity appear as clustered points in a cluster view mode. It is helpful to allow the examinee to monitor the emergence of the singing voice profile on the computer screen:

A completed phonetogram / voice range profile displayed in a cluster view mode. Connection of the low and high intensity boundaries (piano and forte contours) of the voice range profile yield an enclosed area in a polygon view mode.

While the phonetogram covers the entire frequency range, the speaking voice uses only a part of the range. The speaking voice profile is usually measured by counting in normal, soft and tense/loud voice mode. A phonetogram registration is completed on measuring the range of the shouting voice mode:

A completed phonetogram / voice range profile displayed in a polygon view mode. The speaking range profile for normal, soft and loud voice modes is located in the lower to the middle third of the singing voice profile. The shouting voice profile is expected to be found at the top of the singing voice profile.

To interpret and document changes in the voice range, it is important to compare different phonetograms of the same examinee. On a mouse click a previously made voice range profile can be imported into the current one.

A comparison of two phonetograms of the same examinee can demonstrate how the two phonetograms differ in regards to their frequency and dynamic ranges. The upper graph shows evidence of improvement in vocal fold function.

Additional modules make it possible to record voice samples and subject them to acoustic and/or spectrographic analysis. A high quality recorder and a spectrography module are included in the Phonetogram Plus software package.

The lingWAVES spectrogram module shows the distribution of frequencies over time in a recorded voice signal. The third dimension, energy, is presented by colour or darkness. Spectrograms are visual representations of an acoustic signal and contain cues on speech rate, duration, intonation, stress, voice onset, noise, place and manner of articulation, etc.

The program can be enhanced by the addition of further modules on demand, e.g. TheraVox (voice/speech real-time-biofeedback), Vocal Loading Test, Vospector (advanced voice analysis at a glance), real-time spectrography, ... .

Editing and Managing Data

With lingWAVES you can edit audio files as you desire by cutting, copying and pasting, e.g. if you want to remove artifacts or pauses from a signal or if you want to rearrange the order of signal parts. The undo-function is helpful in stepwise undoing changes.

The Patient Manager facility accommodates recorded data and analyses. It gives you fast access to patients' records and an advantage of low-maintenance data management.

Measurements made with High-Quality Precision

Due to technical limitations, precise phonetography is not possible with common soundcards and microphones. lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus requires a standardized sound level meter (SPL), a device for frequency-weighted sound pressure level measurements displayed in dB(A). An SPL meter is a high-quality microphone, which can be easily connected to a PC through a free USB- or COM-port and is automatically configured by the software.

A sound level meter only can estimate the true, real value of sound intensity needed for phonetography and other analyses. lingWAVES phonetograms reach an optimal level of standardization and comparability of measurements that is unattainable by other systems.

Network-compatibility & data exchange port

lingWAVES can be set up to exchange data between work places using the lingWAVES Viewer. This exchange is needed when an examiner makes and evaluates phonetogram registrations on separate locations, e.g. audiometric room and consultation room. The second location is equipped with the lingWAVES Viewer, which is available as an optional accessory.

An optional data exchange port connects lingWAVES to your patient data management software according to the standards of the Berlin Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.

At a glance

lingWAVES Phonetogram Plus Software:

	Modular extendable lingWAVES basis with the phonetography and spectrography modules, medical product class 1 (93/42/EEC), CE signed
	Standardized real-time assessment of frequency and dynamic ranges of the human voice (singing, speaking (habitual, loud/tense, soft/relaxed) and shouting voice modes) according to the recommendations by the Union of European Phoniatricians (UEP), voice range profile
	A standardized sound level meter (IEC 651 Typ2 / ANSI S1.4 Type 2) for measuring intensity in the range between 40 - 120 dB(A), permitted tolerance +/- 1,5 dB, is packaged with the software
	Pitch measurement in the range between 50 - 1.560 Hz
	Toggle switch between polygon and cluster view modes
	Printing, saving and cross-comparing phonetograms
	Patient manager facility for managing patients' records with an optional data exchange port connected to a compatible patient data management software
	Simple and intuitive handling, user manual and graphic user interface are translated into English
	Built-in recorder functions: record, save, zoom, playback, edit (cut, copy, paste), stepwise undo-function
	All measurements and analyses can be printed for filing. Printed reports contain information on patients and institutions supplying the service.
	Spectrographic analysis of recordings make it possible to extract voice information relevant for treatment and therapy

System Requirements

Windows Operating System 2000, XP, Vista, min. Pentium IV, min. 1 GB working storage, 70 MB hard disk capacity, sound card, PC loudspeakers, CD-ROM drive, USB-port, RS 232 port (serial port) for sound level meter (or USB-to-Serial adapter)

lingWAVES SLP/SLT & Voice Clinic Suites

This module is part of the following lingWAVES suite:

lingWAVES Voice Clinic Suite