{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Automated speech analytics in ALS: higher sensitivity of digital articulatory precision over the ALSFRS-R.
{Author}: Stegmann G;Krantsevich C;Liss J;Charles S;Bartlett M;Shefner J;Rutkove S;Kawabata K;Talkar T;Berisha V;
{Journal}: Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener
{Volume}: 0
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: 2024 Jun 26
{Factor}: 3.528
{DOI}: 10.1080/21678421.2024.2371986
{Abstract}: Objective: Although studies have shown that digital measures of speech detected ALS speech impairment and correlated with the ALSFRS-R speech item, no study has yet compared their performance in detecting speech changes. In this study, we compared the performances of the ALSFRS-R speech item and an algorithmic speech measure in detecting clinically important changes in speech. Importantly, the study was part of a FDA submission which received the breakthrough device designation for monitoring ALS; we provide this paper as a roadmap for validating other speech measures for monitoring disease progression. Methods: We obtained ALSFRS-R speech subscores and speech samples from participants with ALS. We computed the minimum detectable change (MDC) of both measures; using clinician-reported listener effort and a perceptual ratings of severity, we calculated the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of each measure with respect to both sets of clinical ratings. Results: For articulatory precision, the MDC (.85) was lower than both MCID measures (2.74 and 2.28), and for the ALSFRS-R speech item, MDC (.86) was greater than both MCID measures (.82 and .72), indicating that while the articulatory precision measure detected minimal clinically important differences in speech, the ALSFRS-R speech item did not. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the digital measure of articulatory precision effectively detects clinically important differences in speech ratings, outperforming the ALSFRS-R speech item. Taken together, the results herein suggest that this speech outcome is a clinically meaningful measure of speech change.