[The phasic imaging of velopharyngeal sphincter movements].

The velopharyngeal function while swallowing water was studied on a healthy volunteer patient with velopharyngeal closure and on a patient with velopharyngeal insufficiency. This patient suffers from open hypernasality as a result of shortened velum. Both subjects underwent nasoendoscopy with a flexible fiber glass optical device while swallowing water and while articulating the plosive consonant /k/. Velopharyngeal function was documented by means of videotaping and then the single video images were placed together along a time scale to form a new temporal image. This image makes possible a quick and comprehensive differentiation between physiological and disturbed motion patterns as demonstrated in this study using velopharyngeal function as the example. The videotaping in lapse time of such disordered movements can provide indicators of the therapeutical steps to be taken.