抄録
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop an objective method of evaluating the swallowing function.
Materials and Methods: Ten healthy, fully dentate males (average age 28.6±3.5 years old) were selected as subjects. General-purpose ultra-sound diagnostic equipment was used with a 5 MHz electronic convex sector scanning probe to observe tongue movement while food was being swallowed. The sounds associated with swallowing were recorded using a heart sound microphone connected to ultra-sound diagnostic equipment. The tongue movements and swallowing sounds were simultaneously recorded on chart paper, and analyzed by plotting six inflection points (T0, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) of the movement curve, and two beginning points of the swallowing sounds (S1 and S2) using a digitizer. X-ray images using videofluorography were recorded simultaneously with ultrasound images in three of the ten subjects.
Results: It was confirmed that all the data from the ten subjects were reproducible. There were statistically significant correlations between Tt4 and St1, and Tt4 and St2, (p<0.001). St1 always preceded Tt4. The VF image S1 indicated that the point in time when the epiglottis was about to shut and T4 coincided with the time when the last of the test food reached the esophagus.
Conlusion: Our results suggested that this evaluation method could be useful for the diagnosis of swallowing.
