Recent Advances in Sensing Oropharyngeal Swallowing Function in Japan 英文参考文献.docVIP

Sensors 2010, 10, 176-202; doi:10.3390/s100100176 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Review Recent Advances in Sensing Oropharyngeal Swallowing Function in Japan Takahiro Ono 1,*, Kazuhiro Hori 1,2, Yuji Masuda 3 and Toyohiko Hayashi 4 1 Division of Oromaxillofacial Regeneration, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan 2 Division of Dysphagia Rhabilitation, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 2-5274 Gakkocho-dori, Niigata 951-8514, Japan; E-Mail: hori@dent.niigata-u.ac.jp 3 Graduate School of Oral medicine, Matsumoto Dental University, 1780 Gohara, Hirooka, Shiojiri, Nagano 399-0781, Japan; E-Mail: masuday@po.mdu.ac.jp 4 Department of Biocybernetics, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University, 8050 Ninomachi, Igarashi, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181, Japan; E-Mail: hayashi@eng.niigata-u.ac.jp * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: ono@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp; Tel.: +81-6-6879-2954; Fax: +81-6-6879-2957. Received: 1 November 2009; in revised form: 30 November 2009 / Accepted: 11 December 2009 / Published: 28 December 2009 Abstract: Dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) is an important issue in the elderly because it causes aspiration pneumonia, which is the second largest cause of death in this group. It also causes decline in activities of daily living and quality of life. The oral phase of swallowing has been neglected, despite its importance in the evaluation of dysphagia, because adequate protocols and measuring devices are unavailable. However, recent advances in sensor technology have enabled straightforward, non-invasive measurement of the movement of important swallowing-related organs such as the lips and tongue, as well as the larynx. In this article, we report the present state and possibility of clinical application of such systems developed in Japan. Keywords: swallowing; dys