Quantifying the Subharmonic Mucosal Wave in Excised Larynges via Digital Kymography

SummaryObjectivesIn this paper, a nonlinear least squares fitting method was proposed to quantify subharmonic mucosal waves.Study Design and MethodsSubharmonic mucosal waves from 10 excised canine larynges were recorded using digital kymography and analyzed using nonlinear least squares and linear least squares methods. Amplitudes of fundamental and subharmonic mucosal wave components of right-upper, right-lower, left-upper, and left-lower vocal fold lips were calculated. Lastly, phase differences of fundamental and subharmonic components of the left and right vocal folds were compared.ResultsThe results showed that the nonlinear least squares analysis method provides a more effective complement to the linear fitting method for subharmonic mucosal wave extraction. There was a significant difference in amplitudes between the subharmonic and the fundamental components of mucosal waves (P < 0.05). The phase differences of the fundamental and the subharmonic components of the right and left vocal folds were not significantly different.ConclusionsThe application of the nonlinear least squares analysis method in digital kymography is useful for the characterization of subharmonic mucosal waves.