Morphofunctional evaluation of buccopharyngeal space using three-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (3D-CBCT)

The present study aims to identify the anatomical functional changes of the buccopharyngeal space in case of singers with canto voice. The interest in this field is particularly important in view of the relation between the artistic performance level, phoniatry and functional anatomy, as the voice formation mechanism is not completely known yet. We conducted a morphometric study on three soprano voices that differ in type and training level. The anatomical soft structures from the superior vocal formant of each soprano were measured on images captured using the Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) technique. The results obtained, as well as the 3D reconstructions emphasize the particularities of the individual morphological features, especially in case of the experienced soprano soloist, which are found to be different for each anatomical soft structure, as well as for their integrity. The experimental results are encouraging and suggest further development of this study on soprano voices and also on other types of opera voices. (C) 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.