The tongue is an intricately configured muscular organ that undergoes a series of rapid shape changes intended to first configure and then transport the bolus from the oral cavity to the pharynx during swallowing. We used phase-contrast MRI to measure the tissue’s local strain rate during the act of swallowing water. Measurements were gated with a novel tongue-pressure sensor, consisting of a balloon inserted at the tip of the subject’s tongue. This sensor provided a reliable trigger, after which the swallowing action occurred repeatably across multiple subjects.

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