Project description
Ground-breaking device helping those with dysphagia
Swallowing can be difficult or even impossible for some people. This is called dysphagia, and it is a disorder usually caused by another health condition such as cancer, stoke and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Dysphagia can lead to choking, weight loss and repeated chest infections, among other serious consequences. The EU-funded SWALLIS project is offering an innovative solution for the diagnosis and monitoring of this disease – the SWALLIS medical device. Based on the cervical auscultation method developed by the team as well as their research conducted on the origin of sound components during pharyngeal swallowing, this wearable device uses sound patterns for diagnosis and management.
Objective
Dysphagia, or difficulty with swallowing, is a medical disorder that impacts 1 in 25 adults (from 18 to 65 years of age) and up
to 75% of people older than 65 . This condition usually occurs as a consequence of other medical conditions such as stroke,
sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Dysphagia often has devastating consequences including choking, chronic malnutrition,
severe life threatening dehydration, aspiration pneumonia, an increased rate of infection, long-term care and in some cases
even death. Following dysphagia diagnosis, constant awareness and review is needed to ensure that problems existence is
monitored which is currently conducted manually. Indeed, no innovative solution is available for monitoring of the condition.
SWALLIS is a unique medical device for the diagnosis and monitoring of dysphagia through the analysis of its sound
components. The device uses an accelerometer and a microphone (see Figure 2) to detect sound signals of swallowing,
filter and analyse breathing noises and voice signals. The innovation is based on the cervical auscultation method and on
the revolutionary research conducted by Prof. Sylvian Moriniere on the origin of sound components during pharyngeal
swallowing. SWALLIS is uniquely positioned to revolutionise the global dysphagia management market that is expected to
be valued at 3.5 billion in 2024.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
67000 Strasbourg
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.