OroPress

About

Each year over 60,000 Americans die from complications associated with swallowing dysfunctions (dysphagia), most commonly aspiration pneumonia – caused by food or saliva going down the windpipe into their lungs. A large proportion of these cases are due to dysphagia arising from stroke, degenerative neurological diseases, and head and neck cancer. Traditional methods to treat dysphagia include conventional speech therapy with oral exercises, patient/family education, swallowing manoeuvres (e.g., tucking the chin), and physiological exercises.  Technology OroPressTM is a Class IIa wireless medical device that uses tongue pressure measurement to diagnose and assist in the rehabilitation of oral swallowing dysfunction, thereby reducing hospital stays, healthcare costs and dysphagia-associated complications including pneumonia, dehydration and malnutrition. OroPressTM was developed by a multidisciplinary team from UL’s Department of Clinical Therapies, Physics, Electronic & Computer Engineering, and Product Design & Technology.