Modelling of swallowing organs and its validation using Swallow Vision®, a numerical swallowing simulator

Swallowing process occurring within the mouth and throat regions is so quick and complex that the three-dimensional (3D) motion of each organ involved in the process has not yet been visualised even by the state-of-the-art medical imaging technology. To overcome this issue, a realistic organ model has been developed based on the actual medical images and validated using swallowing simulation (by Swallow Vision (R)). A three-dimensional organ model coupled with a bolus flow model has been developed using a mesh-free moving particle simulation (MPS) method. Two organ models have been developed based on the computed tomography (CT) and video-fluorography (VF) images of a healthy male volunteer and a male patient with mild dysphagia, and validated by simulation. The results showed that these two models well-visualised each organ and the bolus flow, which were consistent with the actual images. The realistic organ model is deemed to be useful for acquiring a deeper understanding of the biomechanics of swallowing. Further work, especially on the segmentation and registration of medical images, will enable to develop various organ models from medical images, which may help in performing swallowing simulations in the clinical practice.