English

Abstract

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat which is a part of oral cavity. The interaction of tongue with palate is essential for articulation of speech and swallowing of food. Patients with neurological disorders have impaired speech and swallowing problem. In this work, a device is envisioned to provide a non-invasive rehabilitation aid for speech and swallowing disorders. The proposed device serves as both diagnostic and therapeutic tool. The parameters of the proposed device are tongue pressure measurement and tongue color detection along with neuromodulation stimulator (tongue stimulator – therapeutic aid). The output, which is a waveform (tongue pressure) and an image (tongue color) are transmitted wirelessly outside the oral cavity to the computer. This device is used to investigate and quantify the degree of tongue disorder. Periodic rehabilitation therapies along with the proposed device, increases the chances of recovery of functional tongue disorders by 50% within a short interval of time.