A Device that Stimulates and Strengthens the Swallowing Muscles to Help the Elderly with Swallowing Disorders
Authors: Hasan Mosazadeh, Elham lotfalinezhad, Maryam Chehregosha, Farzaneh Barati, Sahar Oghazian, Mohammad Bagher Oghazian
Organization: 1. PhD candidate, Department of psychology, UKW university, Bydgoszcz, Poland. 2. Assistant Professor of Gerontology Department of Psychiatry and Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan, Iran. 3. Department of Surgical Technology, Paramedical School, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran. 4. Assistant Professor of Nursing, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan, Iran. 5. North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran.
Country: Iran
e-mail: htmosazadeh@gmail.com
The current innovation pertains to a device aimed at stimulating and exercising the muscles responsible for swallowing. Its primary purpose is to enhance the strength of these muscles, providing assistance to the elderly dealing with swallowing difficulties. The device encompasses various components, including a pair of electric induction leads capable of altering polarity in two directions (deep and surface induction), sensors, control monitors, intelligent management during electric induction, a vibrator, a thermal inducer, an outer shell, an inner inflatable pad, an adjustable strap, a holder, a back pillow part, and a rechargeable battery. The inflexible casing possesses longitudinal dimensions that extend both above and below the subject’s larynx when the swallowing training apparatus is positioned over it. This shell features a distal surface and a proximal surface, and an adjustable clasp is incorporated to securely fasten the shell around the subject’s neck. An inflatable pad is affixed to the proximal surface of the shell. This inflatable pad is specifically designed to counteract the force exerted by at least one of the subject’s swallowing muscles when the shell is positioned over the larynx and the inflatable pad is in its inflated state.
