Sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be evaluated with ultrasound images of the tongue captured as the patient, awake, performs a simple breathing exercise.
Taiwanese researchers demonstrated the usefulness of the procedure for planning treatment strategies, publishing their findings online Sept. 20 in Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
The researchers, from National Cheng Kung University in Tainan and Fu-Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City, designed their study to develop and verify a dedicated tracking algorithm for monitoring movements in the base of the tongue in patients with OSA.