title: Development of a portable non-invasive swallowing and respiration assessment device.
abstract: Dysphagia is a condition that happens when a person cannot smoothly swallow food from the mouth to the stomach. It causes malnourishment in patients, or can even cause death due to aspiration pneumonia. Recently, more and more researchers have focused their attention on the importance of swallowing and respiration coordination, and the use of non-invasive assessment systems has become a hot research trend. In this study, we aimed to integrate the timing and pattern monitoring of respiration and swallowing by using a portable and non-invasive approach which can be applied at the bedside in hospitals or institutions, or in a home environment. In this approach, we use a force sensing resistor (FSR) to detect the motions of the thyroid cartilage in the pharyngeal phase. We also use the surface electromyography (sEMG) to detect the contraction of the submental muscle in the oral phase, and a nasal cannula to detect nasal airflow for respiration monitoring during the swallowing process. All signals are received and processed for swallowing event recognition. A total of 19 volunteers participated in the testing and over 57 measurements were made. The results show that the proposed approach can effectively distinguish the swallowing function in people of different ages and genders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Chang Gung University, No. 259, Wen-Hwa 1st Road, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan. wyshieh@mail.cgu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Wann-Yun
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan. cmw1314@cgmh.org.tw.|Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University, No. 5, Fu-Hsing Street, Kwei Shan, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan. cmw1314@cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Chin-Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Chang Gung University, No. 259, Wen-Hwa 1st Road, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan 333, Taiwan. johnny7802@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Chia-Shuo
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000502:physiology; D012119:Respiration; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: FSR; dysphagia; non-invasive detection; respiration; swallowing; thyroid cartilage motion