• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.204-209
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• 1997

In the treatment of spasmodic dysphonia, laryngeal injection of botulinum toxin has been reported to be successful. The treatment of adductor type spasmodic dysphonia with botulinum toxin type A injection using EMG was conducted in 24 patients and it's effect was compared with results from flexible nasopharyngoscopy guided injection(29 patients) and telelaryngoscopy guided injection(31 patients). Sixty two point five percent(62.5%) of patients using EMG and 75.8% of patients using flexible nasopharyngoscope and 90.0% of patients using telelaryngoscope reported that the patient's symptom was improved. The functional status of the patient's disorder was classified into low grades. The mean pre-injection grade for patients using EMG, flexible nasopharyngoscope and telelaryngoscope was 1.7, 1.6 and 2.1 respectively. And it was lowered to 1.0, 0.7 and 1.1 respectively after the injection. Results were similar(p＜0.05). As a self assessment method, patients were asked to rate their voice on a scale of 100. In this study, the mean pre-injection score was 66.3, 44.0 and 40.0 respectively. And it was improved to 74.8, 77.7 and 69.8 respectively after the injection. Among 23 patients who undergone above 3method, 17 patients(73.9%) told that EMG-guided botulinum injection was preferable method in its convenience and effectiveness. In conclusion, EMG guided botulinum toxin injection is an another effective method for the treatment of adductor type spasmodic dysphonia similar to telelaryngoscopy-guided injection and flexible nasopharyngoscopy guided injection.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.19-28
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• 2015

This study investigated final consonant error characteristics at word-medial position in children with functional articulation disorder. Data was collected from 11 children with functional articulation and 11 normal children, ages 4 to 5. The speech samples were collected from a naming test. Seventy-five words with every possible bi-consonants matrix at the word-medial position were used. The results of this study were as follows : First, percentage of correct word-medial final consonants of functional articulation disorder was lower than normal children. Second, there were significant differences between two groups in omission, substitution and assimilation error. Children with functional articulation disorder showed a high frequency of omission and regressive assimilation error, especially alveolarization in regressive assimilation error most. However, normal children showed a high frequency of regressive assimilation error, especially bilabialization in regressive assimilation error most. Finally, the results of error analysis according to articulation manner, articulation place and phonation type of consonants of initial consonant at word-medial, both functional articulation disorder and normal children showed a high error rate in stop sound-stop sound condition. The error rate of final consonant at word-medial position was high when initial consonant at word-medial position was alveolar sound and alveopalatal sound. Futhermore, when initial sounds were fortis and aspirated sounds, more errors occurred than linis sound was initial sound. The results of this study provided practical error characteristics of final consonant at word-medial position in children with speech sound disorder.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.55-64
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• 2014

This study measured formant bandwidths of profound hearing impaired children and examined the characteristics of their articulation. For this study, 10 cochlear implanted children(CI), 10 hearing aid children(HA) and 10 normal hearing children(NH) were asked to read 7 Korean vowels(/ɑ, ʌ, o, u, ɯ, i, ɛ/). The subjects' readings were recorded by NasalView and analyzed by Praat. The analysis of the formant bandwidths explains the degree of vocal fold opening and the characteristics of radiation. Through the analysis of formant bandwidth, we can see that the hearing-impaired maintain vocal fold tension when they speak high vowels and characteristics of radiation. Narrower B1 means better maintain vocal fold tension, wider B2 means more front and wider B3 means the rounder lips. CI's B1 was widest and NH's was narrowest. And females' B1 was wider than males'. Among vowels, B1 of /a/ was widest, and B1 of /i/ was narrowest. In the case of B2, HA and NH's B2 was wider than CI's. Females' B2 was wider than males'. And B2 of /i/ was widest, and B2 of /ʌ/ was narrowest. In the case of B3, NH's was widest, and CI's was narrowest. Males' was wider than females'. Among vowels, B3 of /o/ was widest, and B3 of /ɛ/ was narrowest. As a result, first, through the analysis of B1, we can find that NH and males could better maintain vocal fold tension than the hearing-impaired or females, and all children articulate /i/ with vocal fold tension than other vowels. Second, through the analysis of B2, NH and HA articulate vowels with the weaker rounded than CI does. And females articulate vowels with the weaker rounded than males do. Third, through the analysis of B3, NH articulate vowels with the rounder than HA or CI do, and males articulate vowels with the rounder than females do. Through the results, we can expect that the analysis of formant bandwidth will be applied to the therapy of articulation for the hearing-impaired with hearing aids or cochlear implant.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.193-202
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to examine the phonological awareness of hearing impaired children. A number of researches indicate that hearing impaired children have articulation disorders due to their impaired auditory feedback. However, in children who have the ability to distinguish certain phonemes, they sometimes show misarticulation of the phonemes. Phonological awareness refers to recognizing the speech-sound units and their forms in spoken language (Hong, 2001). The subjects who participated in the experiment are composed of four hearing impaired children (3 cochlear implanted children and 1 hearing aided child). Phonological Awareness was evaluated by the test battery developed by Paik et al. (2001). The subtests consisted of rhyme matching, onset matching I II, word initial segmentation and matching I II. If the children asked for retelling, it was retold to a maximum of 4 times. Each item score was 1 point. The results were compared to those of Paik et al. (2001). The results of study were that subject 1 showed superior rhyme matching ability, subjects 2 and 3 fair ability, and subject 4 inferior ability. In onset matching I, all subjects showed inferior ability except for subject 3. Interestingly, subjects 1 showed the lowest onset matching I score. In word initial segmentation and matching I, subjects 1 and 4 showed inferior ability and subjects 2 and 3 showed fair ability. In onset matching II, subject 2 showed the perfect score 10 even though she showed very low score. In word initial segmentation and matching II, only subjects 2 and 3 showed appropriate levels of the skill. The results show that the phonological awareness of hearing impaired children is different from that of normal children.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2007

Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of fresh versus frozen reconstituted botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) for the treatment of adductor type spasmodic dysphonia. Materials and Methods: After reconstitution with normal saline, BTX-A was used within 4 hours or it was kept frozen in a consumer grade freezer at about $-25^{\circ}C$ for up to 4 months. Thirty patients with spasmodic dysphonia were randomly assigned and treated with the either fresh or frozen BTX-A. About 83% of injections resulted in a satisfactory outcome with 5.3 months of mean action duration. Treatment outcomes and side effects of total 161 injections were compared along the duration of keeping BTX-A frozen. Results: There were no statistical differences in the duration of action, self-rated satisfaction score, and the duration of hoarseness and/or aspiration between fresh and frozen BTX-A treated groups. No significant side effects were observed and the frozen BTX-A were proved to be free of bacterial contamination. Conclusion: After being reconstituted and kept frozen, BTX-A may be safely used for more than 4 months without significant loss of its effectiveness or additional side effects.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2021

Objective : Mismatch negativity (MMN) is known to reflect several abnormalities of cognitive functioning. This study is aimed to investigate the differences in MMN among major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with or without suicidal ideation. Methods : Sixty-seven patients with MDD were recruited into this study. MMN was measured by a 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) using oddball paradigm over the front-central area. Clinical characteristics were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Beck Scale for Suicide ideation (SSI-BECK). Patients were divided into two groups, no suicidal ideation (N=12) and suicidal ideation (N=55), depending on the presence of suicide ideation in SSI-BECK questionnaires. Results : The MMN latencies were significantly longer in the MDD patients with suicidal ideation than in the MDD patents without suicidal ideation (p<0.05). The MMN amplitudes were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion : Suicidal ideation may be associated with longer MMN latencies, and it suggests that MMN may play a potential role in assessing the suicidal risk among MDD patients.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

Wet voice quality (WVQ) is a characteristic that appears after swallowing. Although the concept is accepted by many clinicians worldwide, it is nevertheless ambiguous. In this study, we investigated WVQ in patients with swallowing disorders using acoustic analysis. A total of 106 patients diagnosed with penetration-aspiration by the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) were recruited. A voice recording of vowel /a/ was conducted before and after the VFSS, and an acoustic analysis was then performed using PRAAT. Voice after VFSS was used for a perceptual judgment and divided into two groups: the Wet group (48 patients) and the Non-wet group (58 patients). At the post-VFSS stage, the two groups displayed significant differences in many acoustic parameters including F0_SD, Jitter, RAP, Shimmer, APQ, HNR, NHR, FUF, DVB, and CPP. The parameter affecting judging wetness resulted into Jitter and NHR by the logistic regression test. At the pre-VFSS stage, the two groups differed significantly in many acoustic parameters including Intensity, Jitter, RAP, Shimmer, NHR, FUF, DVB, and CPP. Both pre-and post-VFSS, the mean values of all significant parameters, except Intensity, HNR, and CPP, were higher in the Wet group. According to pre-and post-VFSS, the two groups displayed interactions in many parameters (Intensity, F0_SD, Jitter, RAP, Shimmer, APQ, HNR, NHR, FUF, DVB, and CPP). In particular, Intensity increased in both groups after the VFSS, although the increase in the Non-wet group was greater. Based on these results, it was conjectured that the WVQ after swallowing resulted from the secretion effect of the mucous membrane due to the dry laryngeal characteristic of elderly patients, rather than aspiration resulting in food on the vocal cords.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.39-42
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• 2021

Granuloma is an uncommon benign disease that develops in the process of wound healing. Pharyngeal or laryngeal granuloma can be associated with gastric reflux, mechanical injury or trauma including intubation, voice abuse, or foreign body. 50-year-old female was transferred to our institute with a huge mass occupying the upper aerodigestive tract causing dysphagia. The patient has been suffering from a brain hemorrhage for several months and was kept in bed due to the quadriplegia with stuporous mental status, and was tracheotomized. On examination, the whole oropharynx and hypopharynx was covered by a smooth-surfaced soft big diffuse granular mass, which extended down to the upper trachea through the larynx. The huge granuloma was successfully removed with surgery and was found to have a pedunculating stalk on the oropharyngeal posterior wall with a small mucosal defect, suggestive of the origin of the mass. The defect was closed primarily after the cauterization. The patient is now followed up regularly without any recurrence of the disease.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.55-66
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• 2021

Proper prosody in reading allows the reader to naturally convey the meaning, which manifests as changes in pitch, loudness, and speech rate. Children with reading disability face difficulty in delivering information due to poor prosody. This study identified the difference in prosodic features between children with reading disabilities and nondisabled children through means of reading tasks. Reading tasks, according to sentence types (short sentences, assumptions/conditions, intentions, relative-clause), were recorded by 15 children studying in the 3rd to 6th grade in elementary school. Children with reading disability had a statistically significant wider range of pitch, slower speech rate, more frequent usage of pauses, longer total pause duration, and steeper pitch slope than nondisabled one in sentence-final and -medial words. Children with reading disability, therefore, exhibited a less natural and expressive reading than nondisabled children. Through this study, the characteristics of prosody observed in children with reading disability were identified and the need for an approach for effective intervention was also suggested.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

Visually impaired people have very difficulty using retail stores due to the absence of braille information on products and any other support system. In this paper, we propose a basic algorithm for a system that recognizes products in retail stores and explains them as a voice. First, the deep learning model detects hand objects and product objects in the input image. Then, it finds a product object that most overlapping hand object by comparing the coordinate information of each detected object. We determine that this is a product selected by the user, and the system read the nutritional information of the product as Text-To-Speech. As a result of the evaluation, we confirmed a high performance of the learning model. The proposed algorithm can be actively used to build a system that supports the use of retail stores for the visually impaired.