NEW DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT FOR SPEECH, MASTICATION AND SWALLOING DISORDERS

1)新型吸入性肺炎诊断仪的研制对一种新型发光二极管（LED）诊断仪进行了实验研究。新系统使用9个波长为880 nm的LED，900 mA的光源和光电二极管（PD），包括吲哚菁绿色作为染料溶液。比通常稀释20倍的吲哚菁溶液也可用于降低PD处的电强度。进一步改进LED和PD的组合将能够开发新的吸气辅助诊断工具。2）食物硬度对吞咽困难的影响为了阐明食物质地和吞咽功能之间的关系，检查测试材料的硬度对吞咽困难的严重程度的影响。采用琼脂与碘帕醇混合制成四种不同硬度的试验材料。受试者为24名使用视频荧光造影诊断为抽吸或穿透的患者。因此，最软的饮食具有最高的误吸风险，而最硬的材料肯定比其他材料更安全。这些结果表明，饮食的硬度影响吞咽困难的严重程度。根据吞咽的难易程度来划分饮食，将有助于吞咽困难患者更安全、更满意地进食。

1) New equipment for detecting aspiration pneumoniaA experimental study was performed to develop a new diagnostic equipment with light emitted diode (LED). The new system used 9 LEDs with 880nm of wavelength, 900mA of light source and photo diode (PD), including Indocyanine green as dye solution. The Indocyanine solution diluted 20 times than usual was also useful to reduce the electric intensity at the PD. Further improvement of combination of LED and PD would enable to develop a new diagnostic aid for aspiration.2) Influence of hardness of food on dysphagiaTo clarify relationship between texture of the food and swallowing function, the influence of hardness of the test material on the severity of dysphagia was examined. Four test materials with different level of hardness were used for the study, which was made by mixture of agar and iopamidol. The subjects were 24 patients diagnosed as aspiration or penetration using videofluorography. As a result, the softest diet had significantly the highest risk of aspiration, while the hardest material had definitely safer than others. These results revealed that the hardness of diet affected the severity of dysphagia. To divide diets based on easiness of swallow would help patients with dysphagia to eat more safely and satisfactory.