ACURES: Acoustic and Respiratory Parameters for Dysarthria Assessment
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Dysarthria, Acquired Brain Injury. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Spain
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Evaluating Dysarthria Through Acoustic and Respiratory Parameters: A Clinical Protocol
Overview
The goal of this observational study is to describe speech and breathing patterns in adults after acquired brain injury (ABI) and understand how these patterns relate to the presence, severity, and type of dysarthria. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What changes in voice and breathing are observed in adults with dysarthria after ABI? * Can combining acoustic, respiratory, and clinical assessments help identify dysarthria severity and subtype? Participants will: * Have their speech recorded to measure voice and articulation features, such as pitch, clarity, and the ability to sustain sounds. * Perform breathing tests using a spirometer to assess lung function. * Complete the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment-2 (FDA-2), adapted to Spanish, to classify dysarthria type and severity. About 97 to 101 participants will take part. The results will help speech therapists better detect, evaluate, and treat dysarthria in adults after brain injury.
Detailed description
This cross-sectional observational study aims to characterise acoustic, respiratory, and clinical speech parameters in adults with acquired brain injury (ABI) and to examine their associations with the presence and severity of dysarthria. The study is limited to baseline assessment and does not include therapeutic intervention or longitudinal follow-up.
Participants complete a standardised evaluation protocol conducted in a controlled clinical setting. All assessments are performed within a short and predefined evaluation period to minimise fatigue and contextual variability. The protocol comprises three assessment sessions: (1) acoustic and aerodynamic speech evaluation based on sustained phonation vowels /a/, /i/, /u/, /o/ and connected speech tasks; (2) objective assessment of respiratory function using spirometry; and (3) clinical assessment of dysarthria using the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment-2 (FDA-2).
Speech recordings are obtained under standardised conditions to ensure consistency across participants and reliable extraction of acoustic measures. Respiratory assessments are performed according to established international guidelines to ensure validity and reproducibility. Data from acoustic, respiratory, and clinical assessments are analysed jointly to explore associations between phonorespiratory function and dysarthria severity in adults with ABI.
Primary outcome measures
- Dysarthria severity assessed by the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment-2 (FDA-2) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Vowel Space Area (VSA) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Formant Centralization Ratio (FCR) [Time frame: Baseline]
Secondary outcome measures (12)
- Median Fundamental Frequency (F₀) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Jitter [Time frame: Baseline]
- Shimmer [Time frame: Baseline]
- Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio (HNR) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Maximum Emission Time (MET) [Time frame: Baseline]
- s/z Ratio [Time frame: Baseline]
- Vital Capacity (VC) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second (FEV₁) [Time frame: Baseline]
- Maximum Voluntary Ventilation (MVV) [Time frame: Baseline]
- FEV₁/FVC Ratio [Time frame: Baseline]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Adults aged 18 years or older at the time of enrollment.
Diagnosed with acquired brain injury (ABI), including:
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Brain tumor
- Ability to provide written informed consent (or via a legally authorized representative if necessary).
- Cognitive function preserved, defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥ 24.
Exclusion criteria
- History of chronic respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma.
- History of hearing impairments that could affect speech evaluation.
- Presence of additional neurological or neurodegenerative disorders other than the acquired brain injury.
- History of voice disorders or dysphonia prior to the acquired brain injury.
- Presence of persistent pharyngeal symptoms, such as mucus, secretions, or foreign body sensation, which may interfere with speech assessment.
- Participants unable to comply with the assessment protocol or complete the required sessions.
- Presence of apahasia that prevents participation in speech tasks, such as reading, repetition, or spontaneous speech priduction.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Spain · 1 center
- University of Salamanca — Salamanca
Publications
- Argoubi A, Diez Garcia R, Hernandez Moreda B, Martin-Nogueras AM. Integrated acoustic and respiratory biomarkers of dysarthria in acquired brain injury: protocol for a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2026 Apr 28;16(4):e115669. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-115669. PMID 42049296
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07435155 · ACURES-2025-DCA