Metro, regional health services collaborate on new diagnostic technology for swallowing disorders in Mid West

Regional and metropolitan health services have collaborated on new virtual technology, allowing people in the Mid West experiencing swallowing difficulties to receive feedback and diagnoses in real time. The WA Country Health Service Speech Pathology and medical imaging departments at Geraldton Health Campus will livestream the procedure to speech pathologists at the North Metropolitan Health Service, where they can view the diagnostic procedure and create treatment plans on the spot. WACHS Mid West speech pathologist Sophie Maines said the virtual service enabled specialists and patients to receive feedback instantly. “We’re able to view the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing, which helps us identify problems like aspiration, or choking risks,” she said. “From there, we can recommend safe compensatory strategies, texture-modified diets, and rehabilitation exercises to strengthen the swallow and improve safety.” Specialist use Videoflouroscopic Swallow Studies (VFSS), a dynamic X-ray to capture the movement of food and fluids through the throat into the oesophagus, to diagnose swallowing disorders like Dysphagia, which affects around one million Australians. Osborne Park senior speech pathologist Louise Cleary said TeleVFSS improved equity of access to regional Australia. “It also supports regional clinicians to provide evidence-based care, embedding specialist expertise into local services,” she said. “By uniting regional and metropolitan teams, TeleVFSS demonstrates how collaboration, technology, and translational research can build sustainable models of care that deliver high-quality, equitable health outcomes across WA.” WACHS chief medical imaging technologist Ros Barnes said the project was a big win for the community. “Delivering real-time, high-quality imaging over hundreds of kilometres was a technical challenge, but one that was overcome by the outstanding teams in both Geraldton and Osborne Park Hospital,” she said. “The technology means patients can now undergo comprehensive swallowing assessments closer to home, without the added expense, time, and stress of travel.”