Looking for a great new application to assess and track progress for voice patients?  Check outOperaVox!  The SLP Center just got this great new app, and we have already been putting it to good use.  

The app has several price points, including a free edition, one with limited users, and one that allows for multiple users.  The users feature allows you to track multiple patients, and the app will store previous testing data to allow you to track progress over time.

Within the full package, you’re able to give the Voice Handicap Index, a rating survey that has been standardized and allows you to see how your patient’s voice disorder is affecting them functionally, emotionally, and physically.  You are also able to analyze pitch and voice stability.  For this assessment, the patient holds “aah” for 5 seconds, and then pitch is determined as well as jitter, a measure of how much variability is in the voice.  Maximum phonation time assesses how long a patient can hold “aah” without stopping.  Finally, Reading Pitch Range Analysis requires the patient to read a passage (the Rainbow Passage is included in the app and is easily accessible during the assessment).  This analysis assesses both the average pitch and the pitch range of a patient while they read.  I actually also used this analysis a second time to see what my patient’s average pitch and pitch range looked like in conversation – I just gave them a quick prompt (“tell me about your family”) and had them speak into the iPad again. 

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to make sure that the patient is the same distance from the iPad each time you administer the tests.  I measured a piece of string that I’ll have my patients use each time to make sure they are a consistent distance from the iPad.

This app is a great option, whether you’re a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) evaluating and treating voice patients, or if you’re an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor looking for before and after measurements for surgery purposes.  It’s easy to use, easily accessible on the iPad!  A must have for data collection and progress monitoring for voice patients – check it out today!

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