Clinical Application of Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Dysphagia

Dysphagia frequently occurs in older adults and patients with neurological disorders, leading to serious complications such as aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, and dehydration.While conventional tools like videofluoroscopic swallowing study and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing are effective, they are limited by radiation exposure, invasiveness, and poor repeatability.Ultrasonography offers a non-invasive, real-time, and quantifiable approach to evaluating swallowing-related structures such as the hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, suprahyoid muscles, and tongue muscles.Quantitative parameters such as mandible-hyoid distance and thyrohyoid approximation reflect functional swallowing physiology and are useful in the early detection of dysfunction and monitoring rehabilitation response across various conditions.Ultrasonography enables objective tracking of treatment effects, supports individualized rehabilitation planning, and provides a clinically valuable, accessible, and repeatable tool for dysphagia assessment.(Clinical Pain 2025;