Analysis by synthesis of FM modulation and aspiration noise components in pathological voices

FM and source noise characteristics of pathological voices are analyzed and modeled using precision interpolating pitch tracking. Detailed tracking data allows segregation of pitch variations into low frequency (tremor) and high frequency pitch variation (HFPV) time series. Tremor data is used to resample the original voice into a quasi-constant pitch signal, which results in a more accurate source noise estimate using the noise analysis algorithm described by de Krom [1]. Gaussian distributions are used for both source HFPV and aspiration noise models. Combined analysis parameters are used to drive a formant synthesizer, resulting in improved perceived fidelity.