IOPI Medical Quarter 4 Newsletter

Every year the cost of manufacturing our products increases, which unfortunately means the prices of our products must also increase. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to freeze our prices. We are unsure how long we will be able to keep current pricing but will do so for as long as it is financially viable.

We’ve been working very hard to support our customers in any way we can, from our webinars to our advocacy tools, and we’re hoping that absorbing these additional costs will be another way to support you in the care of your patients during these trying times.

In addition to keeping our product pricing the same, we will also cut our extended warranty prices in half. We are proud to stand behind our products and offer the ability to extend your warranty coverage from the standard 2 years up to a total of 5 years. Click the button below to Get A Quote!

Extended warranties are only available at the time of purchase. They only extend the time our Limited Warranty is in effect; they do not add any additional coverage to the Limited Warranty itself. If you have any questions about extended warranties, please contact an IOPI Medical representative at info@iopimedical.com or (425)-549-0139.

Last quarter we introduced you to our newly created Purchasing Advocacy tools, one of which is our IOPI Dysphagia Cost Tool. To better support you in its use, and in turn to better advocate for your patients, we have developed a webinar, IOPI Advocacy: Adding to Your Dysphagia Program, to guide you through the process for the best possible outcome. The webinar is hosted by our clinical consultant, Ed M. Bice, M.Ed., CCC-SLP.

Ed is also available to mentor through the advocacy process to assess and report the estimated cost of dysphagia to your facility. You can reach Ed for a patient consultation or clinical question by calling (844) 844-IOPI or emailing ed@iopimedical.com.
To help you achieve the greatest level of success, we continue to provide you with the necessary Purchasing Advocacy tools in addition to our clinical support. To access our IOPI Dysphagia Cost Tool, the Benefits of IOPI for Dysphagia PowerPoint and tips on advocating for your patients, please click the button below.

In addition to introducing the IOPI Advocacy webinar mentioned above, we are continuing to offer IOPI 101: Introduction to the IOPI System, our 1-hour webinar that introduces you to the IOPI Pro and IOPI Trainer, demonstrates the standard methods for measuring tongue and lip strength and endurance, and explains how to use this system for biofeedback during exercise.

So far, the available dates and times for Live webinars are:

o IOPI 101, Wednesday, October 7th at 12:00pm PT / 3:00pm ET
o IOPI 101, Tuesday, October 13th at 10am PT / 1:00pm ET
o Advocacy, Wednesday, October 14th at 12pm PT / 3pm ET

For those unable to attend our Live webinars, we’ve heard you. We’re excited to announce that we are now offering both of our current webinars On-Demand for viewing at any time.

More dates and times will be added. To register for any of our Live or On-Demand webinars and to check for any scheduling updates, please click the button below.

With 18 years of research using the IOPI, it can be difficult to choose only a few articles to share with you. To narrow the field a bit, we choose a specific topic to focus on in each newsletter. For this quarter, we have chosen ALS and have provided you with three relevant pieces.

Biomechanical Biomarkers of Tongue Impairment During Swallowing in Persons Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32347416/

Twelve participants diagnosed with ALS underwent electromagnetic articulography to derive biomechanical measures of the tongue and a videofluoroscopic evaluation to measure swallow physiology, safety, efficiency, and maximal tongue strength testing using the IOPI. Participants also completed self-reported functional assessments. Findings demonstrated associations between tongue biomechanics and swallowing physiology, swallow safety, and self-reported measures. Swallowing safety during thin liquid intake was associated with tongue speed and range of motion, and swallowing safety with pureed textures was associated with tongue strength measurements.

Association between maximum tongue pressure and swallowing safety and efficacy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32337820/

The study examined penetration aspiration scale scores and swallow efficiency using the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale in fifty‐five patients with ALS referred for FEES. Maximum tongue pressure and tongue endurance were measured using the IOPI. The authors compared tongue pressure measurements between patients with and without penetration, aspiration, or residue. Patients with residue in the pyriform sinus had lower maximum tongue pressures than patients without residue in the pyriform sinus with semisolids. Patients with a tongue endurance of less than 10 seconds had a higher frequency of penetration with liquids.

Changes in tongue pressure, pulmonary function, and salivary flow in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23242462/

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease involving nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement (Rowland LP, Shneider NA, N Engl J Med 344(22): 1688-1700, 2001). The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of neurodegenerative change in isometric tongue strength and spontaneous saliva swallow pressure, saliva weight, and forced vital capacity in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who present with primary spinal versus primary bulbar symptoms. Twenty-three patients were enrolled in the study. Findings indicate the spinal group experienced a slower decline in spontaneous saliva swallow pressure. Saliva production did not show a significant change in the bulbar symptom group but did in the spinal group. In addition, functional vital capacity may be a complimentary measure to gauge ALS patient’s ability to efficiently take oral nutrition and to support required alteration in diet consistency.

This is only a small fraction of the number of IOPI-related studies in general. You can find many more, covering a variety of topics, by clicking the button below.

IOPI’s Clinical Consultant, Ed M. Bice, is co-presenting four sessions during the STEP Swallowing Symposium 2020, an online conference, held December 11-13.

The symposium is a high-quality, low-cost offering, designed to leave clinicians with meaningful information. The STEP team has curated sessions by expert speakers to facilitate learning, foster debate, and provoke discourse. The four sessions Ed will be part of are: ExASPIRATING: How Much Does Aspiration Even Matter?, If the Shoe Fits, Wear it: Device-driven Swallowing Therapy, Do #AllSettingsMatter?: SLP Role Across Continuum of Care, and CYA: Documentation in Dysphagia Management.

To learn more, please click the button below.