Assessment of an electromagnetometric system for the investigation of articulatory movements in speech production

International audienceElectromagnetometry can be used to track articulatory movements during speech production by means of small electromagnetic receivers attached to the articulators. This study was aimed at determining the measurement accuracy of the Movetrack system marketed by Botronic (Sweden). The average difference between a position transduced by Movetrack and the actual position, obtained from a precision mechanical device, was less than 0.4 mm, when the receiver was placed in the midsagittal plane and parallel to the transmitters at a distance of about 25 cm from each transmitter. Higher deviations were observed when the receiver was tilted with respect to the transmitters. Thus the device appears to be capable of delivering accurate measures of position for rigid anatomical structures like the jaw, which are not likely to produce tilt