Implementation of new 3D printed & advanced materials sensors for the bio analysis of dysphagia patients

吞咽困难是指吞咽困难。虽然在ICD-10中被归类为“症状和体征”，但在某些情况下，它本身也被归类为一种疾病。它可能是一种感觉，表明固体或液体从口腔到胃的运输困难，或咽部感觉不足或吞咽机制的各种其他缺陷。吞咽困难是许多疾病常见的继发性症状，例如，50%-75%的中风患者患有吞咽困难。2018年，国家中风报告称，英国每年有超过10万人中风，中风幸存者有120万。这相当于仅中风队列中就有600,000-850,000名吞咽困难患者(SARS-CoV-2/COVID 19之前)。Viscgo估计，英国每年有18.7万例吸入性肺炎病例。不良后果会导致本可避免的疾病和延长住院时间。不正确的干预可能会阻碍治疗、增加成本、住院时间和增加严重或死亡的风险。目前治疗吞咽困难的最新技术包括视频透视、纤维内窥镜评估吞咽(费用)测试和诊断工具，这些工具昂贵得令人望而却步，不确定，而且常规使用不切实际。描述词分类不准确、耗时、需要多个组成部分和灵活性(这也会导致用户冲突)，仅用于培训，没有记录。目前，言语和语言治疗师在治疗吞咽困难患者时进行具体评估。这些评估包括使用测试(视频透视和费用)进行记录和评估，然后通过多个途径进行评估。这些路径是由纯粹观察性的结果决定的，因此可以进行解释，因此是主观的。目前使用的测试有数百种不同的测试(以及这些测试的组合)。测试的例子包括将患者的头转向一侧并观察咽喉的吞咽功能(如吞咽速度、咳嗽或飞溅)，或护士对患者的喉咙施加压力并在他们吞咽时观察他们。这些测试都是粗略的，没有可靠的结果衡量标准。Viscgo已经开发出一种治疗吞咽困难的阶梯变化方法。他们已经开发出一种传感器功能，可以放置在患者的喉咙上，以便定量和可重复地评估患者的吞咽功能。该博士项目将通过研究智能压电传感器阵列的使用来进一步开发这项可穿戴技术，该阵列能够获得功能数据，以帮助确定与食物和饮料相关的依赖关系的生理学。此外，这种喉咙传感器技术还有可能积极刺激参与吞咽的局部和特定肌肉，从而为中风引起的吞咽困难患者的康复提供一种潜在的治疗方法。

Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, in some contexts it is classified as a condition in its own right. It may be a sensation that suggests difficulty in the passage of solids or liquids from the mouth to the stomach, a lack of pharyngeal sensation or various other inadequacies of the swallowing mechanism. Dysphagia is a common secondary symptom of many diseases, for example, 50-75% of stroke patients suffer from Dysphagia. In 2018, Stroke of the Nation, stated over 100,000 people suffer stroke yearly in the UK, with 1.2 million stroke survivors. This equates to 600,000- 850,000 dysphagia sufferers within the stroke cohort alone (pre-SARS-CoV-2/COVID 19). Viscgo estimates 187,000 UK yearly aspirational pneumonia cases. Adverse outcomes lead to avoidable illness and prolonged hospitalisation. Incorrect intervention can impede treatment, increase cost, length of hospitalisation stays and increase risk of severity or death.Current state of art to treat dysphagia include video fluoroscopy, a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) test and diagnostic tools which are prohibitively expensive, inconclusive, and impractical to use regularly. Descriptor categorisations, which are inaccurate, time-consuming and require multiple components and dexterity (which also leads to user conflict), are intended for training only and are not recorded.Currently, speech and language therapists perform specific assessments when treating patients suffering from dysphagia. These assessments include recording and evaluation using tests (video fluoroscopy and FEES) that are then evaluated via a process of multiple pathways. These pathways are determined from results which are purely observational and therefore open to interpretation and as such are subjective. There are hundreds of different tests (and combination of these tests) currently used. Examples of tests include the turning of the patients head to one side and observing the swallowing function in the throat (eg speed of swallow, coughing or spluttering) or the nurse applying a compression against the patients throat and observing them whilst they swallow. These tests are all crude and without reliable outcome measures.Viscgo has developed a step change approach to dysphagia. They have developed a sensor capability that can be placed on the patients throat in order to quantitively and reproducibly assess the patients swallowing function. This PhD project will further develop this wearable technology by investigating the use of smart piezoelectric sensor arrays that have the capability to gain functional data to assist in the determination of physiology against food and drink related dependencies. In addition, this throat sensor technology will have the potential to also actively stimulate local and specific muscles involved in swallowing, thus offering a potential treatment to rehabilitate patients suffering from stroke induced dysphagia.