New device helping people swallow after a stroke

Each year, almost 800,000 people in the U.S. will suffer a stroke. That’s one every 40 seconds.

For those who survive, recovery can be long and hard, and three-quarters of stroke survivors will have difficulty swallowing.

Now, researchers are looking at ways to help people eat and drink after a stroke.

A few years ago, Kevin was playing disc golf when…

“I threw a really nice shot, and I felt a pain come up the back of my spine into my neck,” Kevin said.

When he reached down to pick up the disk, he almost went face-first into the basket.

Kevin suffered a stroke. Along with re-learning how to walk, he had to relearn how to swallow.

Speech-language pathologist Brittany Krekeler is leading a trial at the University of Cincinnati to help.

“A lot of patients that are recovering from stroke do have what we call oral phase impairments in swallowing and that their tongue is weak,” Krekeler said.

Krekeler hopes that the tongueometer, an at-home tongue endurance device, may help.

The device has a pressurized bulb that connects to a patient’s smartphone. It gives patients real-time feedback about how hard they are pressing the bulb with their tongue. They complete exercises three times a day for eight weeks to build up endurance.

Krekeler stresses this is only a piece of the rehab puzzle. Along with oral rehab and surgery, Kevin believes it helped him get rid of his feeding tube.

“I eat anything and everything now,” Kevin said.

And now, he can enjoy a victory meal after his next big win.

The National Institutes of Health have awarded a $660,000 grant to start a larger study with the tonometer.

There is potential that this therapy could be used for other people who have trouble swallowing, such as survivors of head and neck cancers and Parkinson’s disease.