What is That? A Comparison of Speech Language Pathologists and Graduate Students Accuracy During Identification of Anatomical Landmarks/structures on Swallow Imaging

Introduction: Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) use swallow imaging to diagnose and treat swallowing disorders. As part of the graduate course curriculum in the United States, students are required to complete course work in swallowing and swallowing disorders. Training within speech pathology graduate programs and clinical practice settings varies for viewing and analyzing videofluroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) and/or nasoendoscopic studies. A recent study demonstrated graduate student accuracy was low despite training (Fleck & Allen, 2024). The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of practicing SLPs and whether years of experience impacted the level of accuracy. Secondarily, the researchers compared clinician accuracy to student identification of anatomic structures between radiographic imaging and nasoendoscopic imaging. Method: An invitation to participate in an online survey was distributed to several professional networks. Participants were included in the study if they were licensed and practicing clinicians in the area of swallowing. Graduate student accuracy data was pulled from a de-identified set from a previous study. Participants reviewed five static images from lateral radiographic swallow studies and five static images from endoscopic swallow studies across ten cases. Participants identified key anatomical structures and landmarks by clicking on the structure/landmark within a web-based platform. Two experienced speech-language pathologists reviewed and coded participant responses for accuracy. Binomial logistic regression studied the effects of anatomical structure, normal/abnormal, image type, years of experience, SLP practice setting, and type of swallow imaging most commonly utilized. A Mann-Whitney U compared differences in accuracies between SLPs and graduate students. Results: Overall graduate student participant accuracy in identification of structure/landmarks was 69% (range 46-88%) (Fleck & Allen, 2024). Data collection is in process for practicing clinicians and results will be finalized in April, 2024. Discussion: There is a need for greater accuracy amongst graduate speech-language students. Preliminary data suggest that practicing SLP clinicians are only slightly more accurate than graduate students in identification of structures/landmarks.

Fleck, C., & Allen, K. (2024) What am I looking at? Graduate student accuracy in identification of anatomical structure/landmarks on swallow imaging. Anatomical Sciences Education, 17, 1949-1755. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2527