## 5 Conclusions  
The accuracy and sensitivity of acquiring intraglottal and VF contact pressure acquisitions has been investigated using a custom facility that enables validation with ground-truth pressure measurements, and a physical hemi-laryngeal flow facility. To facilitate physiologically-relevant investigations of VF contact, a new description of the geometry for synthetic, self-oscillating VF model geometry was introduced. The VF model exhibited a robust mucosal wave resulting in more realistic kinematic measures of open quotient, speed quotient, and inferior-superior contact length, when compared to previously proposed synthetic VF model geometries.  
The impact of sensor intrusion on contact mechanics was quantified, with very small disturbances (\(\mathcal{O}(1\,\mathrm{mm})\)) causing significant deviations in the measured contact pressure. To mitigate these effects, a method for embedding the pressure transducer within the contacting plate and encapsulating it within silicone to create a flat contact surface was introduced and validated. This approach was then applied to measures of intraglottal and VF contact pressure measurements in a synthetic VF model. Features of the intraglottal pressure waveform were identified, and their dependency on small variations (\(\mathcal{O}(0.5)\,\mathrm{mm}\)) in sensor position relative to contact location were highlighted.  
These findings and insights are applicable to _in vivo_ intraglottal pressure probe designs, as well as strategies that can be implemented by the investigator performing the _in vivo_ investigations to accurately identify when the desired, subglottal, intraglottal, or supraglottal pressure is being acquired.  
The following are available at [[http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/15/3002/s1](http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/15/3002/s1)]([http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/15/3002/s1](http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/15/3002/s1)), Video1: High-speed video of the synthetic vocal fold model oscillations in a hemi-vocal fold arrangement, at a subglottal pressure of \(p_{\mathrm{sub}}=2.15\,\mathrm{kPa}\).  
Conceptualization, M.M.-S., M.Z., S.D.P, D.D.M., and B.D.E.; Methodology, M.M.-S., and B.D.E.; Solidization, M.M.-S., M.Z., S.D.P, D.D.M., J.B.K., R.H.E., and B.D.E.; Formal analysis, M.M.-S., M.Z., S.D.P., and B.D.E.; Investigation, M.M.-S., and B.D.E.; Resources: M.M.-S., M.Z., S.D.P,D.D.M., J.B.K., R.H.E., and B.D.E.; Data curation, M.M.-S., and B.D.E., Writing-original draft preparation, M.M.-S., and B.D.E.; Writing-reviewing and editing. M.M.-S., M.Z., S.D.P, D.D.M., J.B.K., R.H.E., and B.D.E.; Visualization, M.M.-S., D.D.M., and B.D.E.; Supervision, B.D.E.; Project administration, R.E.H., Funding acquisition, M.Z. and R.E.H.  
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders Grant P50 DC015446, as well as CONICYT BASAL FB0008. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.  
The authors would like to thank [PERSON] for her assistance in the fabrication of the synthetic VF models.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.  
The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:  
\begin{tabular}{l l} AT & Adipose tissue \\ DS & Smooth-On@ Dragonskin 10 \\ EF & Smooth-On@ Ecoflex 0030 \\ FSO & Full scale output \\ HSV & High-speed video \\ MPC & Medial prephonatory compression \\ MPP & Medial prephonatory pressure \\ \(OQ\) & Open quotient \\ PGO & Posterior glottal opening \\ SPL & Sound pressure level \\ \(SQ\) & Speed quotient \\ VF & Vocal fold \\ \end{tabular}