The MBSImP is a standardized approach to the instruction, assessment, and reporting of swallowing physiology and impairment from off-line observations of videofluoroscopic images obtained during a MBSS.
The MBSImP was developed and tested during a five-year supported study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIDCD) in over 300 dysphagic patients (the details of the study are described in the 2008 publication in Dysphagia, and the full-text is available online to the public at https://www.northernspeech.com/mbsimp/) and has been the subject of study for 15 years. The purposes of the MBSS and MBSImP approach in adults are to: 1) identify and distinguish type and severity of physiologic swallowing impairment; 2) provide surrogate information regarding sensorimotor mechanisms that contribute to swallowing impairment (e.g., weakness, sensation, etc. that cannot be directly testing but inferred based on evidence); 3) determine the presence, cause, and patient response to airway invasion (penetration/aspiration); and 4) assess the response and adaptations of the mechanism(s) to interventions that identify treatment targets and guide the clinician’s plan of care.
