MRI-based speech production study using a synchronized sampling method.

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique is primarily used to obtain still pictures of body sections, but it also provides a practical means for motion imaging. In this work, the synchronized sampling method originally developed for cardiac motion imaging was applied to the recording of articulatory movements while the subject repeated a short utterance synchronized with the scan sequence. Results showed dynamic movements ofthe speech organs in the midsagittal plane. A few key frames from the movie sequence are presented as an example of its application to speech production research.