Ms. Niharika Khandelwal

Institute: School of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Leeds

Project: Development of an In-vitro device to quantify Oral Pressure required for swallowing.

What triggers swallowing? There have been several studies to correlate the properties of the food bolus and the swallowing criteria. This project tested the hypothesis that the critical criterion of swallowing is that the swallowing pressure required matches the capacity of an individual to produce oral pressure. Samples of food bolus collected from subjects were tested in a model device resembling the oral cavity connected to a texture analyser to measure the swallowing pressure. The Gen Foundation supported this project by providing for the improvisation and testing of the device developed in the Food Technology Laboratory at the University of Leeds.