Magnetic resonance imaging and videofluoroscopy of partial glossectomees' speech: Preliminary results

A study was conducted to demonstrate preliminary results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and videofluoroscopy of partial glossectomees' speech. The six patients participating in the study were diagnosed with anterior or lateral carcinomas of the tongue. The videofluoroscopies were recorded to VHS video in PAL format with a frame rate of 25 fps and these movies were digitized for the quantitative analysis. Tongue velocity and movement range were calculated for each word production for each participant in the study. The MRI data were recorded using a TI echo gradient sequence on Phillips ACS NT Gyroscan with a frame rate of 8 fps. The patients repeated each of the ten words for 10 seconds, resulting in approximately 4-6 repetitions. The speakers' tongue movement was analyzed using the Ultrasonographic Contour Analyzer for Tongue Surfaces (Ultra-CATS) software.