QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECH AND LIP MOVEMENTS THROUGH OPTOELECTRONIC MOTION ANALYSIS AND SURFACE ELETROMYOGRAPHY

Functional impairments of facial movements alter the quality of life, and their quantitative analysis is a key step in the description and grading of facial function and dysfunction. In this investigation we assessed the symmetry of lip movements in verbal and non-verbal movements in healthy subjects. A non-invasive recording protocol, integrating an electromyographic system and an optoelectronic 3D-motion analyzer, has been developed and used to detect lip movements in verbal and non-verbal movements. Two separate investigations have been made. In the first study, functional symmetries of the lip movements were assessed in a control group of clinically healthy subjects. Data were evaluated separately for men and women, and a gender-related effect was tested. The aim of the second study was to assess the onset of the EMG activity of zygomaticus and depressor labii inferioris muscles that play a role in speech pronunciation and smiling movements. The outcomes suggest that the proposed method could be a useful tool to evaluate the asymmetry of the lips and of the facial muscles during the performance of smiling, lip purse and speech pronunciation, and to detect functionally altered facial conditions.