High-resolution dynamic speech imaging with deformation estimation

Dynamic speech magnetic resonance imaging (DSMRI) is a promising technique for visualizing articulatory motion in real time. However, many existing applications of DSMRI have been limited by slow imaging speed and the lack of quantitative motion analysis. In this paper, we present a novel DS-MRI technique to simultaneously estimate dynamic image sequence of speech and the associated deformation field. Extending on our previous Partial Separability (PS) model-based methods, the proposed technique visualizes both speech motion and deformation with a spatial resolution of 2.2 × 2.2 mm² and a nominal frame rate of 100 fps. Also, the technique enables direct analysis of articulatory motion through the deformation fields. Effectiveness of the method is systematically examined via in vivo experiments. Utilizing the obtained high-resolution images and deformation fields, we also performed a phonetics study on Brazilian Portuguese to show the method´s practical utility.