Swallowing difficulties can reduce the enjoyment of eating and often lead to anxiety, shame, and social isolation. Additionally, dysphagia is a major risk factor for problems such as malnutrition, dehydration, pneumonia, and even death.
Dysphagia is common among older adults with neurological conditions and people with intellectual disabilities, affecting 30% of nursing home residents and 85% of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Europe (Richtlijnenlangdurigezorg.nl).
Improving Swallowing with the SilverFit Rephagia
To effectively treat swallowing difficulties, function-oriented swallowing training is recommended. These trainings focus, for example, on strengthening the swallowing muscles or improving hyolaryngeal elevation, as seen with the ‘Mendelsohn maneuver.’ The Federation of Medical Specialists also recommends the use of surface electromyography (sEMG) as biofeedback to support active swallowing rehabilitation.
One tool used for this purpose is the SilverFit Rephagia. This system uses sEMG electrodes to visualize the activity of superficial swallowing muscles through (game-based) visualizations on a screen. This direct visual feedback (biofeedback) encourages and motivates both the client and the therapist.
Insight Through Biofeedback, Motivation Through Gameplay
A study by Galek and Bice (2021) investigated the effectiveness of the SilverFit Rephagia in performing powerful swallowing movements. A total of 82 healthy adults without swallowing disorders participated in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups: a control group without feedback, and a test group that received both verbal and visual feedback (using SilverFit Rephagia) while swallowing various liquid volumes.
The results showed that the group training with the SilverFit Rephagia performed significantly better than the control group. This indicates that using the SilverFit Rephagia has a positive effect on swallowing strength across different liquid volumes.
Reference:
- Galek, K. E., & Bice, E. M. (2021). The influence of surface electromyography visual and clinician verbal feedback on swallow effort ratio at different bolus volumes in a healthy population. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, 73(6), 449-454.
- Richtlijnenlangdurigezorg.nl. (2023). Richtlijn Slikproblemen. https://www.richtlijnenlangdurigezorg.nl/uploads/pdf/project/project_98d436f3-596a-409c-9709-f1c4e4d63745_slikproblemen__authorized-at_14-11-2023.pdf
Want to learn more about this study and other research involving the SilverFit Rephagia?
