Swallow sound acoustics: a cost-effective objective tool for swallowing assessment in individuals with neurogenic...

The lack of objective tools in assessing dysphagia has been a challenge among professionals dealing with persons with dysphagia. The lack of training and affordability has made the objective tools access difficult. The acoustics of swallow sound have been explored by many researchers in past decades, and still, there is a considerable research gap in differentiating dysphagic swallow signals from normal. The current study aims to identify the morphological and acoustic features of swallow sound signals to differentiate the typical and dysphagic individuals in a cost-effective way. A vibration pickup microphone was used to pick up the swallow signal of 5ml, 10ml, 15ml, and 20ml thin liquids followed by 5ml and 10ml curd (IDDSI 4) using praat software. The analysis revealed an inconsistent pattern of signal with multiple waves and prolonged duration in individuals with dysphagia. The duration parameters and number of swallow (peaks) showed a significant difference between typical and dysphagic individuals. By utilizing the morphological features and acoustic parameters, a comprehensible assessment of swallow function is possible, and it requires no effort and falls within the scope of practice of speech-language pathologists.