Videofluoroscopy: A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

Videofluoroscopy: A Multidisciplinary Team Approach is a timely volume that helps to meet the growing need for multidisciplinary team knowledge of the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS). Clinicians increasingly rely on the objective examination of swallowing to create a baseline as part of the patient's diagnosis and treatment. Much of the current literature focuses on the speech and language therapist working alongside a radiologist. However, the radiologist is increasingly no longer involved in the investigation, highlighting the need to amplify the multidisciplinary team knowledge of the procedure.

Increasing demand for new and established diagnostic and interventional procedures has encouraged innovative models of service delivery, resulting in an extended range of health professionals crossing the traditional practice boundaries. In particular, the radiographers who complete the examination, along with the speech and language therapists, need to learn more about the swallowing function. Likewise, it is essential that speech and language therapists increase their knowledge base on the radiographic aspects of the examination.

Authored by numerous highly regarded scholars, Videofluoroscopy: A Multidisciplinary Team Approach serves as a crucial resource to help all members of the videofluoroscopy service team acquire the knowledge and skills they require. The book is divided into two parts: Part One provides an overview of swallowing and an introduction to the VFSS. Part Two covers various clinical indications for VFSS, including stroke, neuromuscular conditions, pediatric disorders, learning disabilities, dementia, and head and neck cancers.

Roger D. Newman, BSc (Hons), MSc, MRCSLT, is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK. He is also currently a Senior Lecturer on the University of Manchester's undergraduate BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapy degree program, and an Honorary Lecturer on the Masters Level course in Advanced Imaging at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester. His specialist clinical interests include the objective examination of dysphagia via videofluoroscopy and interpretation of highly abnormal images, which prompted publication of the rare case of dysphagia in hyoid bone fracture. Adult acute disorders of swallowing, including in patients with a tracheostomy tube in-situ, are also areas at which he excels. His research interests include quality in service provision and he has just completed a Transatlantic Comparative Study of Acute Dysphagia Services. The ethics and legalities of feeding in the end of life are also areas of significant interest.

Julie M. Nightingale PhD, MSc, DCR(R), is a registered diagnostic radiographer and radiography educator holding the position of Director of Radiography / Head of Department at the University of Salford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). With a specialist interest in promoting practitioner-led gastrointestinal imaging, she has developed and delivered a range of programs at the Masters Level, including a unique UK module promoting best practice in practitioner-led videofluoroscopy. She was a founding member and former Chair of the UK-based Gastrointestinal Imaging Radiographers Special Interest Group (GIRSIG), and has organized several multi-disciplinary conferences related to GI Imaging. Research interests and publications have centered upon advanced and non-medical consultant practice, including associated risks and benefits and the impact upon patient care. She has previously edited two textbooks related to advanced practice. Her teaching focus is related to anatomy and physiology, health care ethics, medico-legal issues, and research methodology. She is currently leading a research group exploring the patient experience of radiology investigations, including radiological management of the obese patient.