No abstract

We developed a system with a simple structure for sensing movement during swallowing through simple operations using piezoelectric poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) braided cords as a motion sensor. In the system, the analog-signal-processing part of the PLLA braided cord sensor is composed of analog-signal-adjusting parts, a multiplexer, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, and so forth, the data is processed on a personal computer, and finally the dependence of the signal intensity on the position and time of the motion during swallowing is plotted as a three-dimensional plot. The results of a swallowing function test using our developed system appeared to coincide with that of a diagnostic test described in a medical textbook. In addition, the subject experienced little restriction of the motion during the measurement using our system. The experimental results suggest that our system has potential use as a wearable device as a useful and portable tool for healthcare.