Phonation threshold pressure using a 3-mass model of phonation with empirical pressure values.

Understanding the control parameters that influence phonation threshold pressure can have important implications for ease of phonation. Using a computer model of phonation can aid in studying parameters not easily controllable through human experimental work and may provide a means of explaining variations seen across human participants. A vertical 3-mass computer model of phonation with empirical driving pressures was used to obtain phonation threshold pressures for a variety of prephonatory conditions that may be realistically produced by humans. The resulting phonation threshold pressures are reasonable compared to results from human studies and may extend beyond the range of phonatory control parameters studied in human experiments. In addition, the present work adds a formula for calculating phonation threshold pressure based on the prephonatory glottal angle, the tension of the vocal folds, and the prephonatory diameter. Of special interest is that, as the prephonatory angle of convergence increases from 0 degrees (the rectangular glottis condition), the phonation threshold pressure increases in a nearly linear fashion.