Evaluation of the Speech Quality During Rehabilitation After Surgical Treatment of the Cancer of Oral Cavity and Oropharynx Based on a Comparison of the Fourier Spectra

In this paper, we propose the selection of parameters for quality evaluation criterion of pronunciation of certain phonemes. Is presented a comparison of the different options and criteria for the selection of the parameter metric serving their basis - the Minkowskian metric. This approach is used for the comparative assessment of the quality of their utterances in the process of voice rehabilitation of patients after surgical treatment of cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx. The pronunciation before surgery, taken as a etalon, and after the operation in the course of employment with a speech therapist are compared. The proposed criterion is calculated based on a comparison of the Fourier spectra of these signals and detect differences on the basis of Minkowskian distance. Pre-signals are subjected to the procedure of normalization for the comparability of the spectra. At the end of the experiment the value of the Minkowskian distance parameter to ensure the greatest legibility signals in comparing the quality of pronunciation was suggested. Various approaches to the formation of the quality evaluation criteria pronouncing phonemes are presented. The applicability of the proposed approach for an objective comparative evaluation of the quality of pronouncing phonemes [k] and [t] in patients before and after surgery is confirmed.