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Evaluation of swallowing movement using ultrasonography

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop an index to assess swallowing function by ultrasonography to evaluate the relationship between movements of the hyoid bone and the larynx while swallowing water. Forty-two younger participants (mean age, 20.3 ± 3.4 years) and 42 older participants (mean age, 75.1 ± 10.6 years) with normal swallowing function were included in the study. Movements of the hyoid bone and the larynx while swallowing 5 mL of water were observed using ultrasonography. Two-dimensional distances from the starting points of the hyoid bone and the larynx to their points of maximum movement were measured as displacements. The hyoid bone–laryngeal motion ratio was defined as the hyoid bone displacement divided by the laryngeal displacement. Parameters were compared among four groups: younger male, younger female, older male, and older female. The hyoid bone displacement differed significantly between the younger and older groups, and the laryngeal displacement differed significantly between age groups and sexes. The hyoid bone–laryngeal motion ratio was not significantly correlated with age, height, or body weight, and did not show a significant difference between the four groups. Thus, the hyoid bone–laryngeal motion ratio is an index that evaluates swallowing movement and is independent of physique and physiological changes associated with aging.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) Grant Number JP17K18264.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, 3-11-1 Asahigaoka, Kashiwara, Osaka, 582-0026, Japan

    Takao Matsuo, Ken Nakatani & Naoe Mori

  2. Department of Oral Health Care and Rehabilitation, Doctor’s Course of Oral Health Science, Graduate School of Oral Sciences, Tokushima University, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima, Tokushima, 770-8504, Japan

    Takao Matsuo

  3. Department of Oral Health Care and Rehabilitation, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima, Tokushima, 770-8504, Japan

    Miwa Matsuyama

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  1. Takao Matsuo
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  2. Miwa Matsuyama
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  3. Ken Nakatani
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  4. Naoe Mori
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Correspondence to Takao Matsuo.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were performed in accordance with the Research Ethics Committee of Kansai University of Welfare Sciences (Approval number: 17-64) and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Matsuo, T., Matsuyama, M., Nakatani, K. et al. Evaluation of swallowing movement using ultrasonography. Radiol Phys Technol 13, 62–68 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-019-00547-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-019-00547-1

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