Swallowing Imaging

The objective of this work is to optimize the clinical performance of this technique for dysphagia, based on cine-MRI analysis of the swallowing process in a healthy subject. A rapid imaging protocol of salivary swallowing and an evaluation grid (D-GRID) were designed. Their application has been studied in patients with upper aerodigestive tract tumors and in patients with Intra-Laryngeal Prostheses (ILP). The D-GRID allows to measure and evaluate the airway protection mechanism, to design rehabilitation programs and to follow the evolution of dysphagia. The analysis of swallowing in cine-MRI is limited by the absence of bolus and the supine position, but our results show its reliability. Kine-MRI defines models of normal or abnormal displacement of anatomical structures during swallowing. The development of LIPs will provide a therapeutic solution based in part on dynamic imaging data.