New wearable tech aims to ease swallowing troubles for stroke and Parkinson's patients

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * 50-90 years old * a confirmed (by a neurologist/physician) diagnosis of stroke at least 3 months post event, or of PD (Hoehn and Yahr Stages II-IV) * score in the normal/mild range on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), determined during an in-house screening * confirmed oropharyngeal dysphagia, as evaluated during the intervention eligibility assessment by a certified and trained Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) * accuracy of exercise performance; as evaluated during the intervention eligibility assessment by a certified and trained SLP * independent (or with caregiver support) use of i-Phagia system post pre-intervention training session; as evaluated during the intervention eligibility assessment by a certified and trained SLP Exclusion Criteria: * known allergy to barium or known/suspected perforation or obstruction of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract * recent history of pneumonia (past 6 months) * head and neck surgery, radiation or trauma * a score in the moderate-severe range on MoCA (screened during in-house screening) * other neurological/neuromuscular disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis, brain tumor, myositis, etc) * difficulty complying due to neuropsychological dysfunction determined during the in-house screening * currently enrolled in swallow or speech therapy * facial hair in the submental (under the chin) area and refusing to shave. * known allergies relating to the Ten20® Conductive Paste (this is the conductive paste used to help with sensors signal and adherence to the skin) and/or any of the sensor materials (gold/acrylic) that come into contact with the skin * no oropharyngeal dysphagia; as evaluated during the intervention eligibility assessment by the certified and trained SLP * inability to perform the prescribed exercises accurately after a maximum of 12 practice trials; as evaluated during the intervention eligibility VFSS assessment by the certified and trained SLP * inability to use the system accurately post training (for i-Phagia groups); as evaluated during the intervention eligibility assessment by the certified and trained SLP * inability to safely swallow (without aspiration) at least one consistency; as evaluated during the intervention eligibility assessment by the certified and trained SLP