Computational Deglutition: Using Signal- and Image-Processing Methods to Understand Swallowing and Associated Disorders [Life Sciences]

Swallowing is a sensorimotor activity by which food, liquids, and saliva pass from the oral cavity to the stomach. It is considered one of the most complex sensorimotor functions because of the high level of coordination needed to accomplish the swallowing task over a very short period of 1-2s and the multiple subsystems it involves. Dysphagia (i.e., swallowing difficulties) refers to any swallowing disorder and is commonly caused by a variety of neurological conditions (e.g., stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson disease), head and neck cancer and its treatment, genetic syndromes, and iatrogenic conditions or trauma. The signs and symptoms of dysphagia range from anterior loss of food while eating, difficulty chewing, and subjective difficulty swallowing food or liquids to choking or coughing before, during, or after eating because of impaired clearance of swallowed material from the throat into the digestive system. When not effectively treated, dysphagia can cause malnutrition, dehydration, immune system failure, psychosocial degradation, and generally decreased quality of life.