A new method for epoch detection based on the Cohen´s class of time frequency representations

This paper presents a new method for detecting the instants of glottal closure (IGC), or epochs, in noisy environments based on the Cohen´s class time-frequency representations (TFR). We define a detection function inspired in a time-frequency formulation for optimum detection and apply a morphologic closing over it to determine the epochs. It compares favorably with other methods (e.g., the SIFT-based and the Frobenius norm [FN] function) in different levels of Gaussian noise. Experiments are carried over a data base composed of ten speakers.