University Health Network, Toronto
Dysphagia (swallowing impairment) is a serious health condition seen in many age-related disease and injury processes. Although videofluoroscopy (VF) is an international "gold standard" dysphagia diagnostic exam, there is a paucity of available normative physiologic VF reference values in healthy adults across the age span to guide interpretation of these examinations. In this project, the investigators will extend previous work on the quantitative measurement of swallowing physiology from VF examinations to establish reference values for swallowing in healthy adults, and to identify clinical decision point values for differentiating healthy swallowing across the age span from disordered swallowing in several high-risk clinical populations to study dysphagia.
Dysphagia (swallowing impairment) is a serious health condition seen in many age-related disease and injury processes. Although videofluoroscopy (VF) is an international "gold standard" dysphagia diagnostic exam, there is a paucity of available normative physiologic VF reference values in healthy adults across the age span to guide interpretation of this examination. This fundamental gap in knowledge contributes to poor agreement in the identification of swallowing impairment and its underlying mechanisms. To enable better dysphagia diagnostics, there is a critical need to establish reference…
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Healthy Volunteers: no history of swallowing difficulties. 2. Clinical cohorts: physician confirmed diagnosis of the condition of interest plus symptoms of swallowing difficult, defined as a score \>/=200 on the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire. Exclusion Criteria: * cognitive communication difficulties that may hinder comprehension of the study documents * known allergies to latex, due to the possibility that these items will come into contact with the oral mucosa during data collection * current pregnancy
A videofluoroscopy (VF) is a dynamic radiological evaluation of swallowing in which the participant swallows liquid or food boluses of different consistencies prepared with barium contrast. The x-rays are recorded at 30 frames per second.