An ultrasonic method for monitoring tongue shape and the position of a fixed point on the tongue surface

An ultrasonic method is presented that combines B-mode ultrasonic imaging with pulsed-transmission ultrasound to image the lateral contour of the tongue and to detect the position of an ultrasonic sensor placed on the tongue surface in the same plane. Measurement accuracy was investigated with respect to the distance between the ultrasonic transducer and the sensor, and with respect to the tilt and lateral displacement of the sensor. An experiment measured movements of the tongue during continuous speech.