Resarch on muscles of the vocal folds

OK so for the last week I have been looking at the muscles related to the vocal folds and controlling Their movement and tension. The movement is very complex  involving 6 muscles to get their movement. they are called the intrinsic muscels and they move the artenoid cartilages to adjust the tension and shape of the vocal folds.

 The Tranverse arytenoid attaches to the arytenoid cartilage that controls the the adduction of the vocal folds and draws them together closing the opening.

The lateral cicroarytenoids attatches the arytenoid cartilage to the thyroid cartilage and when tighten it then tightens moves the folds closer together, aiding the movement of the Tranverse arytenoid

 The movement of the posterior cricoarytenoids move the vocal folds apart, the opposite to the movement of the Tranverse arytenoid and the lateral cicroarytenoids.

 The vocalis and thyroarytenoids control the shortening and therefore the loosening of the vocal folds.

and the cricothyroids tighten the vocal folds by moving the artenoid cartilage away from the thyroid cartilage and tightens the vocal chords.

Due to the complexity of these muscles I have simplified the muscles movement of the folds as it would be far too difficult to produce during this assignment.

The webiste I used for the images on this post is http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/respiratorysystem/larynx/intrinsicmuscles/tutorial.html   I found the site quite helpful for my research

second skin 2

My idea for this project is  a conceptual experiment on the larynx. It theoretically would involve removal of specific parts within the larynx and trachea.The trachea would be remouved and the bronchial tubes would extend to the larynx where each tube from each lung would pass through its own set of vocal chords. The rest of the larynx would be widened to accommodate another set of vocal opening and vocal chords and another breathing tube. To develop this idea further I would investigate the surrounding muscles and ligaments to get a firm grasp on what controls their movement. I would then investigate the relevance of the surrounding cartilage and decide what could be removed or altered without altering the larynx too much.After I have a firm grasp on what can be removed I would start modeling the vocal folds and surrounding tissues as this part of my model will require the most testing to get right.

One problem with my idea is that I cannot research on myself as it is all internal and experimentation or even examination would be too dangerous so I will have to rely on measurements for the 'average human' found online or in medical textbooks.

I am yet to think about the aesthetic of the model but as it is an internal addition, it would be best to keep it organic and simple. It should be driven from the larynx and added to rather than changing the layrnx completely.

 Here is a the concept I have developed

And here is where It would sit within the larynx

So there is my concept. It will be difficult to design and to get the vocal chrods right but I believe I can pull it off.

second skin 1

I have decided what I am going to create. I am going to design the human equivalent of a syrinx! This is the voice organ in birds that allows some birds to produce two or more notes at once. The birds voice organs work differently than humans though, humans have 2 vocal folds within the larynx that are soft tissue that tighten or relax to change pitch. When air is passed between the two they vibrate much like a stringed instrument and the vibrations cause the change in pitch. the tighter the vocal chords, the higher the sound. Where as in birds the vocal organs are within the body of the bird and is situated where the bronchial tubes split to go to each lung. The muscles within the walls of the syrinx vibrate to produce sound as air passes through.


So what I intend to design is a layrnx has two sets of vocal folds to give the ability to produce two notes at once. at this point in my research I think that the bronchial tubes from each lung will lead to a seperate vocal opening rather than join in the chest as they currently do. I need to do more research into the structure of the larynx to see if it is possible but I believe that it is a viable idea.

Here are some of the first sketches I produced for my idea

then some mopre sketches after investigating the potential for positioning my idea.