Biomechanical Measurement of Hyoid Excursion during the Swallow: A Pilot Study

Kim, Youngsun; Park, Younghak

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Commun Sci Disord. 2008;13(3): 503-512.

Youngsun Kim^` , and Younghak Park^`

김영선(Youngsun Kim)| 박영학(Younghak Park)

ABSTRACT

Background & Objectives
Identification of swallowing impairments can help determine valid treatment strategies. The videofluoroscopic swallowing examination is useful to judge misdirection of the bolus flow such as aspiration. However, it is important to develop an objective measurement of physiological impairments which may put the patients into the risk of aspiration. The purpose of this study was to introduce the biomechanical measurement of hyoid excursion in order to measure the physiological impairment during the swallow. A case study was presented to introduce the measurement of hyoid excursion.
Methods
Vertical and anterior displacements of the hyoid bone were analyzed on 1, 3, 5 and 10ml thin liquids using an ImageJ program. Four points of hyoid excursion were selected to represent the trajectory of hyoid displacement. A patient with tongue-base cancer was examined at 3-month and 1-year follow-ups during post-radiation treatment.
Results
The biomechanical measurements of hyoid excursion indicated a 0.14 cm improvement for vertical displacement in 1-year follow-up compared to 3-month. No improvement was observed for anterior displacement of the hyoid. This result indicated that patient’s hyoid excursion got improved to protect the airway despite slow progress.
Discussion & Conclusion
This study demonstrated the usefulness of the biomechanical measurement of the radiographic swallowing examination to evaluate hyoid excursion during the rehabilitation exercises of swallowing. This measurement will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of dysphagia treatments.