Vocal Folds
During normal speaking, human vocal folds oscillate at 120 Hz (men), and 250 Hz (women). Since the visual perception system is not able to differentiate image sequences with more than 25 pictures per second, the need for a method able to record fast motions in the larynx and slow down them in play back for clinical examination of vocal fold oscillations exists.
For this purpose, a clinical usable highspeed camera system for the examination of vocal fold oscillations is being developed at Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, in cooperation with Richard Wolf GmbH (Knittlingen) and the department for phoniatrics and pedaudiology of the clinic of university Erlangen-Nuremberg. This system consists of a digital highspeed camera and a diagnosis software for knowledge based semiautomatic analysis of vocal fold oscillations.