Process (with Sphinx) Applied to mTBI mobile application Results: On-Device (iPad mini, iOS 7.0.4) results in speech string: “Six Five Five Eight Seven Four Zero”
Data Collection (ND Bengal Bouts): Data Analysis Workflow (pilot) • Extract eight acoustic features for each
vowel sound • Design and evaluate many SVM classifiers • Identify feature groups that recall all
concussed recordings with minimal false positives
Planning for on-device processing • Goals: speed, accuracy, robustness • Embedded speech/audio software (e.g.,
CMU Sphinx) for speech segmentation and feature extraction
• Possible cloud service
mTBIs are a high profile problem in sports at all levels • Common in contact sports (~300,000
per year) [1] • Early (sideline) detection may help to
avoid important to avoid acute and chronic problems (Secondary Impact Syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, …)
mTBIs may affect speech • Brain injuries affect coordination of
facial muscles used to articulate phonemes
• Can cause slower reaction times and slurred speech [2]
The Project • Collect multiple speech samples from
athletes (baseline, after practice, after hit, …) using a mobile app
• Process speech signal to obtain acoustic features that can classify injury state
USING SPEECH AS A BIOMARKER TO DETECT MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES Nikhil Yadav, Christian Poellabauer, Patrick Flynn
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering Advanced Diagnostics & Therapeutics Initiative
References:[1] Sports related recurrent brain injuries, MMWR MorbMortal Wkly Rep, vol. 6, pp. 224 - 227, 1997. [2] W. Ziegler and D.V. Cramon, Spastic dysarthria after acquired brain injury: An acoustic study, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, vol.21, no.2, pp. 173 - 187, 1986. Acknowledgements: This research is funded by the Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics Initiative at the University of Notre Dame and by the NFL/GE Head Health Challenge.
Recognized Word Start Time End TIme
“Sixth” 0.31 s 0.94 s
“I” 0.94 s 1.17 s
“Five” 1.17 s 1.95 s
“Eight” 1.95 s 2.23 s
“Seven” 2.23 s 2.74 s
“Four” 2.74 s 3.07 s
“Zero” 3.07 s 3.59 s
