Imagine not being able to eat your favorite foods-- no pizza, French fries or even drink a cup of water-- all because you can't swallow.
[WEB EXTRA: More information on Synchrony ]
"I hadn't had a hamburger or even a cup of coffee for a year and a half," said Richard Kennedy.
Richard Kennedy is one of the 15 million Americans who suffer from this condition called dysphagia. It's something half of people over 60 experience some kind of swallowing disorder.
But after 3 months of intense therapy, Kennedy said he's seeing a big change.
"I have just started, with two hands, eating a hamburger!," said Kennedy. "It takes me a while to eat, but I enjoy every bite."
Kennedy credits therapy at Manorcare Rehabilitation for helping him relearn how to swallow.
Elaine Barker has been a Speech Pathologist for over 20 years and says this new high-tech therapy called "Synchrony" is a game changer.
"You can't put a value on something like this," said Barker. "To go from not being able to eat anything at all ever, to being able to eat anything he wants to eat."
Here's how Synchrony works:
-Electrodes are attached to the patient.
-The electrical stimulation measures the "strength" or muscle contraction of the swallow.
-Patients can literally "see the swallow" in real time using virtual reality biofeedback signals.
"It's not just that they can't swallow. Often they can't feel when they're swallowing. They don't know when the food is there, so they don't know if they're swallowing," said Barker.
This program uses game-like interactive activities that show exactly how hard Kennedy is swallowing during an exercise and when he needs to improve.
"It tells you, ‘Ok, you are at this level, now we want to get up to this level.' And then they can watch and see that time it didn't work, but this time, ‘Wow, I did it. What did I do and can I replicate that,'" said Barker.
For the past six years, Douglas Young has struggled with his speech and difficulty swallowing following a stroke.
Just 3 months of therapy and he too is benefiting using the Synchrony program.
"It's forced me to concentrate on the muscles in my face and throat," said Young. "I don't like to talk like a disabled person, so the more I speak better, the better I feel."
Barker placed the electrodes on facial muscles for Young's exercise, so when he uses the correct muscles, the kangaroo hits the target.
"In the beginning, he was very difficult to understand, if you could understand him at all, especially on the telephone," said Barker. "Now, he can call people, he can talk to his friends, to his dad."
There are a million new cases a year of these kinds of disorders. They can occur following a stroke, brain injury or even cancer.
Dysphagia can lead to serious complications such as dehydration, malnutrition, a higher rate of infection and aspiration pneumonia, as well as increased rehospitalization and mortality.
Therapists said the rehabilitation equipment used is non-invasive and safe for patients of all ages.