Refining diagnosis and treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia: what can muscle ultrasound offer?

Jodi Allen, UCL & The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

Understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms that drive swallowing difficulties is crucial for targeted treatment. Despite this, clinical assessment remains focused on biomechanical outcomes and symptom profiles. This gap fundamentally limits our ability to develop mechanism-based interventions.

To bridge this gap between pathophysiological understanding and clinical practice, we need accessible tools that can evaluate swallowing pathophysiology in real-world settings. Muscle ultrasound represents one promising solution, offering speech and language therapists a unique opportunity to evaluate underlying changes in the swallowing-related muscles and their relationship with biomechanical function and symptoms.

Can muscle ultrasound fill a knowledge gap that currently prevents comprehensive understanding of dysphagia? In this lecture, Jodi will explore the applications of muscle ultrasound in dysphagia diagnosis, share novel findings from her PhD research, and discuss both the opportunities and limitations for future practice.

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