A preliminary study on the estimation of characteristics of swallowing in elderly nursing home residents who receive meal assistance

Caregivers in special nursing homes for the elderly feel that assisting the residents with meals imposes a heavy caregiving burden. The caregivers are concerned about abnormal swallowing by those who require assistance with meals because abnormal swallowing in elderly people may lead to pneumonia, which can be a cause of death. The goal of this study is to provide information to caregivers about swallowing in those who receive care to improve the safety of swallowing and the efficiency of meal assistance. In this preliminary study, the surface electromyogram (EMG) and the acceleration (ACC) at the neck region during swallowing were analyzed. Typical EMG and ACC waveforms produced by swallowing were obtained in two aged subjects. However, noisy EMG waveforms and noisy ACC waveforms were obtained during eating in a third aged subject. The reason that we could not obtain clear EMG and ACC waveforms in this aged subject may have been the heavy flap of skin on the neck.