This causes curvature of his spine. He needs seats with different height cushions under him. Another piece of equipment Hubbard and colleagues are testing is a stethoscope from American Medical Development that can be used at a remote site to amplify the patient's swallowing. The sounds are fed into the telephone so they can be interpreted by a computer to diagnose aspiration. Aspiration of food and liquid into the lungs is a result of a condition called dysphagia.
Aspiration is common with the elderly and the disabled and can be fatal.
She will be leaving San Antonio to pursue her Ph.D. in rehabilitation science at the University of Pittsburgh, but Hubbard hopes to help keep the door open to telehealth advances for patients in South Texas. The needs are great, especially in certain fields such as orthopaedics, and places like Zapata may never have quick access to a lot of expensive medical equipment. Telehealth consults are a real opportunity to help such isolated populations.