Digital health technologies in swallowing care from screening to rehabilitation: A narrative review

Abstract

Objectives

Digital health technologies (DHTs) have rapidly advanced in the past two decades, through developments in mobile and wearable devices and most recently with the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and subsequent extension into the health space. DHT has myriad potential applications to deglutology, many of which have undergone promising investigations and developments in recent years. We present the first literature review on applications of DHT in swallowing health, from screening to therapeutics. Public health interventions for swallowing care are increasingly needed in the setting of aging populations in the West and East Asia, and DHT may offer a scalable and low-cost solution.

Methods

A narrative review was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar to identify recent research on applications of AI and digital health in swallow practice. Database searches, conducted in September 2024, included terms such as “digital,” “AI,” “machine learning,” “tools” in combination with “deglutition,” “Otolaryngology,” “Head and Neck,” “speech language pathology,” “swallow,” and “dysphagia.” Primary literature pertaining to digital health in deglutology was included for review.

Results

We review the various applications of DHT in swallowing care, including prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment planning and rehabilitation.

Conclusion

DHT may offer innovative and scalable solutions for swallowing care as public health needs grow and in the setting of limited specialized healthcare workforce. These technological advances are also being explored as time and resource saving solutions at many points of care in swallow practice. DHT could bring affordable and accurate information for self-management of dysphagia to broader patient populations that otherwise lack access to expert providers.