Evaluation of velopharyngeal pathophysiology and velopharyngeal insufficiency with magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

The disadvantages and limitations of imaging methods to investigate velopharyngeal incompetence have created some difficulties in the management of this condition. Seven normal volunteers and seven patients who were suffering from a speech disorder were examined using magnetic resonance imaging. The velopharyngeal aperture was evaluated at rest and during phonation. In normal volunteers, the velopharyngeal aperture area had a mean value of 1.632 cm 2 while at rest and complete closure was obtained during the phonation of /s/ sound. Detailed information was obtained about the function of the levator palati muscle. In five patients during the phonation of /s/ sound there was an increase in the area of the velopharyngeal aperture when compared to the volunteers. Investigation with magnetic resonance imaging is helpful in the pretreatment evaluation and postopertive follow-up examination of velopharyngeal insufficiency. As a result, this noninvasive method can be used as an alternative to conventional radiological investigations.

Using MRI for Assessing Velopharyngeal Structures and Function

“…The present study demonstrates an acquisition that does not rely on either repeated acquisitions or uniform magnetic fields for steady-state sequences. Previous dynamic assessments have used prolonged speech sound productions (McGowen et al, 1992; Akgüner et al, 1998; Özgür et al, 2000; Vadodaria et al, 2000; Ettema et al, 2002; Ha et al, 2007; Atik et al, 2008; Kao et al, 2008; Drissi et al, 2010; Tian et al, 2010). A few studies have demonstrated the use of sentence-level productions (Beer et al, 2004; Silver et al, 2011).…”

Variations in Velopharyngeal Structure in Adults With Repaired Cleft Palate

“…Significant differences were also apparent for the velopharyngeal portal measures in the present study. Studies have consistently demonstrated significantly shorter velar length measures in children and adults with repaired cleft palate compared to normal anatomy (Coccaro et al, 1962; Akgüner et al, 1998; Özgür et al, 2000; Satoh et al, 2002). Findings from the present study further support this observation.…”

Speech and Language Issues in the Cleft Palate Population: The State of the Art

“…Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows promise in studying the anatomy of the region and overcomes some of the disadvantages of dissection and histology. Several studies (e.g., Story et al, 1996Story et al, , 1998Whalen et al, 1999) have been conducted in which MRI has been used to image and measure the vocal tract (upper airway), and other studies apply more directly to the velopharyngeal mechanism (Naito et al, 1987;Wein et al, 1991;McGowan et al, 1992;Yamawaki et al, 1996;Vadodaria et al, 1997;Yamawaki et al, 1997;Akguner et al, 1998). Ettema et al (1998) used MRI to image the levator veli palatini muscle in vivo during speech.…”