Biomimetic evaluation of bolus transit in modelled esophageal swallowing

There are many commercially available rheometric instruments that link bolus formulation and flow characteristics to quantitative engineering metrics. However, the exploration of these relationships does not necessarily capture the macroscale of bolus transport or arguably the most important interaction: what pressure the alimentary tract imparts on a bolus during swallowing, and to what end is viscosity a good predictor of food bolus transit behaviour? In order to investigate this relationship, a biomimetic esophageal swallowing robot has been developed that can transport boluses in a continuous peristaltic manner. In swallowing, physical interactions between the food boluses and the esophageal wall are modulated based on the feedback from mechanoreceptors, which are pressure and strain sensitive. This work focuses on expanding the functionality of the esophageal swallowing robot by introducing sensing elements to mimic the mechanoreceptors of the esophagus. The sensors also function as built-in measurement probes to complement some of the clinical bolus transit evaluation instrumentations. This robot integrates the knowledge of the swallowing physiology into the scientific rheological evaluation instrumentation to help food scientists identify food attributes that have more clinical relevance to safe and efficient bolus transport.