Project description
Understanding solid food swallowing by developing more realistic in vitro models
As we age, most body functions undergo changes. Depending on an individual’s overall health profile, some of the physiological processes may even become impaired. Dysphagia – difficulty swallowing – is a serious concern for older adults and other vulnerable groups as it can lead to malnutrition or even choking. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SENSINGTech project will study the interaction between food characteristics and saliva production upon food intake to evaluate mastication and swallowing in healthy and dysphagic individuals. The project’s work will lead to the first-of-its-kind in vitro approach that mimics the human feeding process, unravelling the mechanisms that may disrupt it.
Objective
The main goal of oral processing is preparing food for swallowing and digestion, where mastication determines the effective surface area of food particles and food bolus properties. Ageing induces changes in oral physiology leading to substantial alterations in bolus properties, bioaccessibility, and bioavailability of nutrients. The impact of age-related alterations on swallowing and digestion can be intensified by health conditions that may cause dysphagia. SENSINGTech is an interdisciplinary research project that, integrating a full sensor-based technological platform, aims to investigate the evolution of food properties in mouth, and the dynamics of food oral processing and saliva addition on bolus formation, to quantify its impact on both swallowing and the delivery of nutrients. This work aims to provide clear-cut boundaries of food characteristics that ensure a safe swallow. The key limitation of working with vulnerable people to accurately measure mastication, swallowing and digestion will be overcome by developing a quantitative in vitro approach that mimics the human feeding process, monitoring the “Stage II of transport” for solid food intake – not captured by any in vitro system yet. This project will enable the fellow to acquire a strong competence in food oral processing, swallowing, and digestion, learning new methodologies and applications to meet the challenges linked to population ageing and the management of dysphagia. This research will address the Horizon Europe (HE) efforts devoted to “Health”, where the unique combination of expertise will lead the candidate towards an independent scientist career of high quality and strong international visibility. SENSINGTech will therefore be a milestone for the future research career of the applicant, positioning both the fellow and the host in leading positions in food oral processing and the dysphagia research field.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
75007 Paris
France