@article{0419e487a601492a9ea502b010f9d07d,
title = "Towards interpretable speech biomarkers: exploring MFCCs",
abstract = "While speech biomarkers of disease have attracted increased interest in recent years, a challenge is that features derived from signal processing or machine learning approaches may lack clinical interpretability. As an example, Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) have been identified in several studies as a useful marker of disease, but are regarded as uninterpretable. Here we explore correlations between MFCC coefficients and more interpretable speech biomarkers. In particular we quantify the MFCC2 endpoint, which can be interpreted as a weighted ratio of low- to high-frequency energy, a concept which has been previously linked to disease-induced voice changes. By exploring MFCC2 in several datasets, we show how its sensitivity to disease can be increased by adjusting computation parameters.",
author = "Brian Tracey and Dmitri Volfson and James Glass and R{\textquoteright}mani Haulcy and Melissa Kostrzebski and Jamie Adams and Tairmae Kangarloo and Amy Brodtmann and Dorsey, \{E. Ray\} and Adam Vogel",
note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceuticals). Funding for the WatchPD study was contributed by Biogen, Takeda, and the members of the Critical Path for Parkinson{\textquoteright}s Consortium 3DT Initiative, Stage 2. The authors acknowledge the members and advisors of the CPP 3DT initiative and the FDA for their insightful feedback to the WATCH-PD study design and execution. The authors gratefully acknowledge WatchPD participants who joined WatchPD study participant forums, which helped clarify the need for more interpretable voice features. We also acknowledge Dr. Sandra Rojas as contributor of healthy control data from Australia. Funding Information: This research was supported by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceuticals). Funding for the WatchPD study was contributed by Biogen, Takeda, and the members of the Critical Path for Parkinson{\textquoteright}s Consortium 3DT Initiative, Stage 2. The authors acknowledge the members and advisors of the CPP 3DT initiative and the FDA for their insightful feedback to the WATCH-PD study design and execution. The authors gratefully acknowledge WatchPD participants who joined WatchPD study participant forums, which helped clarify the need for more interpretable voice features. We also acknowledge Dr. Sandra Rojas as contributor of healthy control data from Australia. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",
year = "2023",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1038/s41598-023-49352-2",
language = "English",
volume = "13",
journal = "Scientific Reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "1",
}