For use with:

Nasality Visualization

The term nasality refers to an auditory impression about speech and is not a precise physical variable.  The primary underlying physical variable is the opening and closing of a passageway between the oral vocal tract and the nasal passages.  Usually, this opening is controlled by lowering and raising the velum or soft palate, however, with persons having a cleft palate, other passages my cause an impression of hypernasality in their speech.

Since nasality is a subtle characteristic of speech, it is not easily perceived by the hearing impaired and is not readily controlled in learning a foreign language or in child language learning.  Because of this, a means for visualizing the action of the velum and in the case of the presence of a cleft palate, the success of attempts to close the cleft is needed. 

One popular means for doing this is the measurement of the so-called Nasalance of the voice, defined as the ratio of acoustic energy at the nostrils to that at the mouth during vowels, with some form of acoustic separation present between the mouth and nose.   Methods for measuring and displaying the airflow through the nose during consonants requiring an oral air pressure, termed Nasal Emission, can also be helpful.

New! Nasal Emission System

Nasal Emission system shown in its entirety, which includes mask handle, S/T Mask, and speaker with electronics.

The new Nasal Emission measurement and viewing system from Glottal Enterprises can be purchased separately or as part of the Nasality Visualization System.

It features:

• A color-differentiated display of both audio and nasal emission.
• Practice and Compare-To-Model screens.
• User–settable target limits for nasal emission in the Practice Mode
• USB operation on any Windows XP computer - even laptops.  (Vista operation coming)
• Both average and total airflow are displayed for any selected NE episode.
• Uses Glottal Enterprises proven aerodynamic measurement technology that is factory calibrated

The Nasality Visualization System

In 2005, Glottal Enterprises president Martin Rothenberg received a U.S. Patent for a new method of measuring Nasalance and Nasal Emission, using a divided, dual chamber form of the CV airflow mask developed by Dr. Rothenberg and marketed by Glottal Enterprises.

Glottal Enterprises then set out on a quest for a system for the visualization of nasality which was both precise enough for research and clinic use, and sufficiently user-friendly so that the system could be used by technologically unsophisticated persons for home use, including children.

• USB operation
• Color-differentiated display that clearly separates vowels and vowel-like consonants from pauses, unvoiced consonants and nasal consonants.
• Ability to eliminate nasal consonants from the average-nasalance computation.
• Two options for the audio separation handle - the OroNasal mask handle or a separator plate held against the upper lip.
• Easily changeable separator plates for the separator-style handle can be selected to best fit the face of the user, and are easily cleaned.
• The mask handle, in two sizes, can also be easily changed between users.  It yields reliable and reproducible nasalance measurements without the use of head straps or the need for a critical placement that can change during use.
• The mask handle can optionally also measure Nasal Emission in speech or nasal leakage in standard blowing tasks.

A version of the Nasality Visualization System is included in the Glottal Enterprises Speech Tutor software.

The Nasality Visualization System from Glottal Enterprises offers the next generation of tools needed to measure and display the pattern of nasalance in speech and singing and to reduce nasality in the clinic or at home. Based on 30 years of research and application, the Nasality Visualization System provides clinic-level power and accuracy in a home therapy system.

Comfortable mask or convenient separator    This new system from Glottal Enterprises offers the choice of a hand-held sound separator resting on the upper lip or a soft, comfortable OroNasal mask. Both the separator and the mask separately measure and records nasal and oral voice energy. 

Who can use the Nasality Visualization System?     The Nasality Visualization System works as a professional therapy supplement and as a standalone system. It is appropriate for speech disorders in children and adults related to neurological conditions, cleft palate, hearing impairments and speech training after a cochlear implant. The system is also valuable in learning to speak a new language and in singing instruction. 

Affordable, effective therapy booster   Developed as a supplement to professional therapy, the line of Glottal Enterprises systems for visualizing the pattern of nasality in speech make professional sessions more effective. Therapists can assign activities, pre-record models and review practice recordings. With practice, learners stay on track, and progress is easier. 

Convenient system needs only a desktop or laptop computer    The Nasality Visualization System can be used anywhere there's a desktop or laptop multimedia computer (Windows 98/2000 or newer). Just install the software, plug in the separator or mask and begin.

Getting started is quick and easy    With a single mouse click, the student selects the type of speech input mode to be used – separator handle or mask handle - and then chooses between the Practice screen or the Compare to Model screen. 

Real-time feedback, rapid progress  Beginning with the Practice activity, the student can produce sounds, words or complete phrases, and view the pattern of nasalance in real time  In this mode, students can see instantly how the nasalance associated with their velar posture compares to an on-screen target. This clear feedback lets students find out immediately if they are practicing correctly.

In the Compare to Model activity, two nasalance graphs are displayed.  The upper graph, labeled Model, can be of the nasalance in a pre-recorded model utterance, or it can be of a student-created model that the student can attempt to improve on.

The OroNasal Mask

The unique OroNasal mask is a two chamber version of the Glottal Enterprises circumferentially vented (CV) mask that has long been the choice of clinics, hospitals and research centers worldwide for measuring voice airflow with high fidelity and minimal speech distortion.  Use of the mask option for the NVS allows the user to also measure Nasal Emission  (nasal airflow during consonants using an oral pressure)

What's so special about the OroNasal mask?

Everything! The OroNasal mask is...

Soft and flexible, fitting comfortably over nose and mouth; The OroNasal mask is well-suited for long periods of use and easy for children to accept.

Innovative and accurate, based on the clinically proven Glottal Enterprises voice-transparent circumferentially vented (CV) mask design. For speech recording, the OroNasal mask has transducers and electronics built into the handle.

Non-invasive, so there's no hard plate pressing on the student's mouth (as in some other systems for recording nasalance) and nothing goes in the mouth. The OroNasal mask fits over both nose and mouth and separates airflows with proprietary pneumotach technology to reduce cross-sound-leakage between nose and mouth.

User-controlled, the mask works without the uncomfortable, awkward head straps or harnesses used in competing systems. The student simply holds the mask in place when ready to use it.  Interruptions that occur during practice are easily accommodated. The OroNasal mask, in demand at hospitals and clinics for its accuracy, comfort, and ease of use is now available for use at home as part of the Speech Tutor system.

Separator Handle

For NVS users who are interested in tracking only vowel Nasalance, and not Nasal Emission in consonants, Glottal Enterprises can now supply a separator-style measurement handle that is interchangeable with the dual-chamber OroNasal mask.  For researchers interested in making comparisons, this comfortable, hand-held separator offers a measurement solution comparable to that of some competing systems for measuring nasalance 

Owners of older Glottal Enterprises systems for measuring nasalance can upgrade their software free of charge when purchasing a partition-style handle.  Contact us if you would like more information about this option.

NasalityStudent Software

Following the examples of WaveviewStudent and AeroviewStudent for providing students, clients and potential purchasers with low cost interactive software for studying the functioning of new voice analysis techniques available from Glottal Enterprises, we are introducing NasalityStudent.

The NasalityStudent CD contains a highly functional version of the Nasality Visualization System, a detailed interactive manual for taking the user through the operation of the NVS and the interpretation of the results, and a number of prerecorded voice segments that go along with the exercises in the manual.

Glottal Enterprises
Sales: 877.912.7649, sales@glottal.com
Info: info@glottal.com
Fax: 315.422.1216