PAS Hardware
PAS contains all of the necessary hardware and peripheral components (except the PC) for a complete system. These have been carefully selected and matched to ensure reliable data acquisition and measurements. The external PAS hardware module has bilateral handles (held by the client during data acquisition) with the face mask, pneumotach, pressure transducer, required tubing and microphone all integrated in an ergonomic construction. All aspects of signal conditioning, filtering and data sampling have been designed specifically to comply with the stringent requirements of accurate phonatory and aerodynamic data acquisition. The microphone for pitch and amplitude calculations is mounted at a fixed distance and is pre-calibrated at the factory for each system to maximize accuracy. Both adult and pediatric face masks (both reusable and disposable) are supplied.
PAS Software
PAS software is menu-driven with a convenient set of protocols based on typical phonatory/aerodynamic tasks that have been reported in the literature. The protocols contain instructions to elicit both speech and non-speech tasks in order to calculate a comprehensive set of data related to phonatory function. The protocols step the user through each stage of the data acquisition process with prompts so that even occasional users can easily operate the system. PAS calculates average phonatory flow rate, sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, vital capacity, glottal resistance, subglottal pressure (derived), and efficiency measurements. In addition to the standard protocols, PAS contains the flexibility to allow users to construct their own.
An Integrated System
PAS relieves clinicians and voice scientists of the burden of assembling an extensive array of components from multiple vendors for a phonatory airflow system. In addition to integrated hardware, the PAS software is designed specifically around the PAS architecture to provide optimal performance and ease of use.
