Dysphagia foods: Current research, technological innovations, and future directions

Background

With the increasingly severe population aging, the number of dysphagia patients continues to rise. Persistent dysphagia can lead to malnutrition and psychological illnesses. Thus, designing and developing dysphagia-friendly foods based on diverse food matrices is essential to reduce the physical and psychological illnesses resulting from dysphagia.

Scope and approach

This review summarizes the existing classification standards and detection methods for dysphagia foods. Subsequently, research progress and technological variations in preparing dysphagia foods from different food matrices consumed daily are classified and discussed. Finally, advanced technologies currently applied to the preparation of dysphagia foods are described, such as additive manufacturing, AI, and bionic devices.

Key findings and conclusions

A variety of food matrices, including meats, eggs, dairy proteins, plant proteins, vegetables, fruits, and fungi, have been utilized in the development of dysphagia foods. The approach of adjusting food texture through the addition of hydrocolloids has increasingly become the mainstream method for preparing dysphagia foods. Furthermore, additive manufacturing is currently the most prevalent technique for preparing dysphagia foods. The application of 3D/4D printing facilitates the enhancement of textural properties of dysphagia food. Regarding the evaluation of dysphagia foods, the integration of AI with swallowing visualization and wearable sensors enables more precise analysis of physiological signals during swallowing. In vitro swallowing behavior simulated using bionic devices provides an effective means to assess the textural characteristics of these foods throughout the swallowing process. These findings underscore the critical importance of the convergence of multidisciplinary technologies for the future development of dysphagia foods.