Accuracy of the pressure-flow method in estimating induced velopharyngeal orifice area: effects of the flow coefficient.

A two-part study was conducted to determine the accuracy of the pressure-flow method in estimating induced velopharyngeal orifice areas when the flow coefficient k was empirically determined. In Study 1, short tubes, 4.5 cm in length and with internal diameters of 3.2, 4.8, and 6.4 mm, were placed in a model of the vocal tract, and the associated flow coefficients were calculated. In Study 2, the 4.8-mm internal diameter tube was inserted into the nasopharynx of a normal adult subject to induce oronasal coupling during production of the syllable/pa/. Results for the human subject revealed that the error between the known and estimated orifice areas was approximately 7%. This finding indicates that the pressure-flow technique is accurate when the flow coefficient of the orifice is known. It is suggested that future research attempt to estimate flow coefficients associated with the geometry of the human velopharyngeal orifice in order to improve the accuracy of the pressure-flow technique.