Automated analysis of pharyngeal pressure data obtained with high-resolution manometry

We present an algorithm developed in MATLAB that can be applied to both normal and disordered swallowing to automatically extract a wide array of measurements from the spatiotemporal plots produced by high-resolution manometry (HRM) of the pharyngeal swallow. The algorithm was developed from data from 12 normal and 3 disordered subjects swallowing 5-ml water boluses. Automated extraction was compared to manual extraction for a subset of seven normal and the three disordered subjects to evaluate algorithm accuracy. Area and line integrals, pressure wave velocity, and pressure gradients during upper esophageal sphincter opening were also measured. Automated extraction showed strong correlations with manual extraction, producing high correlation coefficients in both normal and disordered subjects for maximum velopharyngeal pressure and maximum tongue base pressure. Timing data were also strongly correlated for all variables, including velopharyngeal pressure duration, tongue base pressure duration, and total swallow duration. Preliminary descriptive data on area and line integrals are presented. Our results indicate that the algorithm can effectively extract data automatically from HRM spatiotemporal plots. The efficiency of the algorithm makes it a valuable tool to supplement clinical and research use of HRM.