Method and device for swallowing impairment detection
AssigneesHolland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, University Health Network
InventorsThomas T.K. Chau, Catriona Steele, Ervin Sejdic, Bruno C. Maruzzo
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for swallowing impairment detection, whereby a candidate executes one or more swallowing events and dual axis accelerometry data is acquired representative thereof. Upon feature extraction and classification, vibrational data acquired in respect of each swallowing event is classified as indicative of one of normal or possibly impaired swallowing. Computer-readable media comprising statements and instructions for implementation by a processing device are also described in facilitating swallowing impairment detection respective to candidate swallowing events.
Claims41
A device for use in identifying a possible swallowing impairment in a candidate during execution of a swallowing event, the device comprising:
- a dual axis accelerometer to be positioned in a region of the candidate's throat and configured to acquire axis-specific vibrational data representative of the swallowing event;
- and
- a processing module operatively coupled to the accelerometer for processing the axis-specific data to extract therefrom, for each axis, one or more features representative of the swallowing event, and classify the vibrational data as indicative of one of normal swallowing and possibly impaired swallowing based on the extracted features.
A method for classifying cervical dual-axis accelerometry data acquired in respect of a candidate swallowing event to identify a possible swallowing impairment, comprising:
- receiving as input axis-specific vibrational data representative of the swallowing event;
- extracting one or more preset features representative of the swallowing event for each axis of the axis-specific vibrational data;
- comparing the extracted features with preset classification criteria defined as a function of the preset features;
- and
- outputting, based on the comparing step, classification of the vibrational data as indicative of one of normal swallowing and possibly impaired swallowing.
A computer readable-medium having statements and instructions stored thereon for implementation by a processor to automatically implement a method for classifying cervical dual-axis accelerometry data acquired in respect of a candidate swallowing event to identify a possible swallowing impairment, comprising:
- receiving as input axis-specific vibrational data representative of the swallowing event;
- extracting one or more preset features representative of the swallowing event for each axis of the axis-specific vibrational data;
- comparing the extracted features with preset classification criteria defined as a function of the preset features;
- and outputting, based on the comparing step, classification of the vibrational data as indicative of one of normal swallowing and possibly impaired swallowing.
A method for identifying a possible swallowing impairment in a candidate via execution of one or more preset swallowing events, comprising:
- recording dual-axis vibrational data representative of the one or more swallowing events;
- extracting one or more swallowing-event specific features for each axis of the dual-axis vibrational data;
- and
- classifying the extracted features as indicative of one of normal swallowing and possibly impaired swallowing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.