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The project focuses on the development
of tools and technology that will enable medical experts
to perform real time, high resolution, remote, interactive,
examinations of patients. We are particularly interest in
patients with oral/pharyngeal dysphagia (disordered swallowing).
Oral/pharyngeal dysphagia occurs as a result of various
diseases or disorders that affect the neuromuscular systems
of the head and neck. Examples of causality include (but
are not limited to) cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury,
head and neck cancer, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. Untreated,
dysphagia can lead to respiratory complications such as
aspiration pneumonia and/or the health complications associated
with malnutrition. Because there are a limited number of
qualified speech-language pathologists who are regularly
available to serve patients in the rural areas, it is often
necessary to transport these patients to larger communities
where the appropriate personnel are available to perform
the videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing function.
Thus the examination of those who live in rural communities
typically incurs travel costs, inconvenience to the patient
and family, and may require the time and cost of a health
care attendant and ambulance.
The sample videos of a normal person and
a person with dysphagia are shown below. The videos were
encoded using MPEG1 format.
Person with normal swallow
(MPEG1 3 sec, 456KB)
(download time 1min/56K, 4sec/T1) |
Patient with Dysphagia (MPEG1
10 sec, 1.4MB)
(download time 3:30min/56K, 12sec/T1)
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| Click
above pictures to play two different videos of normal
and dysphagia patients |
Perlman, A.L., Witthawaskul, W. (2002).
Real-time
Remote Telefluoroscopic Assessment of Patients
with Dysphagia. Dysphagia, 17, 162-167.
Witthawaskul, W and Perlman, AL (2003).
Application of a real-time remote-controlled system for
dynamic image analysis. American
Telemedicine Association 2003 Conference, Orlando, FL,
April 28, 2003.
Perlman, AL and Witthawaskul, W (2002).
Remote, real-time, interactive, internet-based videofluoroscopic
assessment of swallowing. American
Telemedicine Association 2002 Conference, Los Angeles,
CA, June 6, 2002.
Perlman, AL. NCSA/UIUC
FY2002 Faculty Fellows Program “BROWN BAG” Seminars
"Real-Time
Remote Telefluoroscopic Assessment of Patients with Dysphagia",
Beckman Institute, Urbana, IL, February 21, 2002.
Perlman, AL & Witthawaskul, W and
Jackson, L (2000). Real-Time, Interactive, Internet-Controlled
Assessment of Swallowing. American Speech Language Hearing
Association, Washington, DC, November.
Perlman, AL and Witthawaskul, W, Jackson,
L and McLaren, T. (2000). Use of The Internet For Remote,
Real-time, Interactive Videofluoroscopic Examination of
Swallowing Function. Dysphagia Research Society, Savannah
GA., October.
10 June 2003 Solving the dilemma of distance
- Telemedicine Project Aimed at Helping Rural Patients With Swallowing Disorders,
Northwest Parkinson's Foundataion.
29 Jan 2002
Long-Distant
Medicine, NCSA
Access Magazine Online. A 215KB PDF archive is here.
The article is also in the printed magazine vol 15 no 1
Spring 2002 page 14-17.
1 Nov 2001
Project aimed at helping rural patients with swallowing disorders,
News bureau, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
30 July 2001
Telemedicine to help treat swallowing disorders,
News-Gazette.
The project was funded by  NCSA/UIUC
Faculty Fellows Program 1999, 2001, the Department
of Speech and Hearing Science in 2000 and the College
of Applied Life Studies Neer Disability Grant, 2003.
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