Instrumental research and development

Since Articulate Instruments came into being in September 2003 it has worked on developing instrumentation. Initially the company concentrated on electropalatography providing a medically certified PC based recording and analysis system called WinEPG and a portable biofeedback system called PTU (portable training unit). We designed and developed a new flexible circuit method of EPG palate manufacture to reduce the time, cost and expertise needed to make the palates. Unfortunately, the costs associated with this metho of manufacture doubled over time making it impractical to continue. The cost of palates and lack of interest from the speech community in this instrument led to us ceasing production in 2012.

Since then we have concentrated on developing ultrasound as a practical and accurate tool for speech research and biofeedback. An aluminium probe stabilisation headset was developed. It held the probe in place but was heavy and uncomfortable.  We worked on developing a lightweight headset that would do an equivalent job. Eventually we teamed up with Lorenzo Spreafico (Bolzano/Bozen univerity) and his designer Anna Matosova who were also working on a lightweight replacement and we adopted their design with minor improvements in 2017. The UltraFit headset has proven to be effective, comfortable and provide good stabilisation.

We developed a means to simultaneous synchronised ultrasound and EMA in co-operation with Alice Turk and Cedric McMartin as part of the Edinburgh Speech Production Facility in 2010.

Over the last few years we have been working on developing a commercial (i.e. reliable and accurate) electroPhotoGlottoGraph (ePGG) for measuring glottal opening and closing gestures. Like hyoid movement, this is an articulator with no instrument to measure it.  The ePGG is not to be confused with the electroglottograph (EGG or laryngograph) which measures phonation, vocal fold opening and closing.