Ultrasound-based Models for Identifying Sarcopenic Dysphagia: The Key Role of Digastric Muscle.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Medical Imaging
• Diagnostic Medicine

Background:

• Sarcopenic dysphagia (SD) significantly impacts older adults' health.
• Current diagnostic tools for SD lack reliability.
• There is a need for effective, non-invasive diagnostic methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate ultrasound-based diagnostic models for SD.
• To integrate clinical and radiomics features from swallowing muscles.
• To identify the most informative muscle for SD diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• A diagnostic accuracy study involving 377 nursing home residents (≥65 years).
• Ultrasound radiomics features extracted from geniohyoid (GH), digastric (DM), and tongue (TM) muscles.
• Logistic regression models combining clinical and radiomics features were developed and validated.

Main Results:

• The digastric muscle (DM) model showed the strongest diagnostic performance (AUC 0.78 internal, 0.75 external).
• The DM model achieved a sensitivity of 0.46 and specificity of 0.87 in external validation.
• Adding other muscle radiomics did not significantly improve diagnostic performance.

Conclusions:

• The digastric muscle (DM) is the most informative site for ultrasound-based SD diagnosis.
• A combined clinical and DM radiomics model provides a practical assessment tool.
• This approach facilitates early detection and intervention for SD in long-term care settings.