Glenbrook Technologies is honored to be chosen by
Dr. Teresa Lever and the University of Missouri School
of Medicine to design and build a high resolution
fluoroscopic x-ray system that has the ability to
continuously monitor and record the gullet of a live
mouse as it is swallowing.

Glenbrook Technologies was singularly chosen
because of their patented “magnification fluoroscopy”
technology. Glenbrook had developed this technology
used in their LabScopetm, for fluoroscopically
monitoring small animal research procedures, at low
radiation levels.

The importance of being able to fluoroscopically view
the mouse swallowing dynamic is as follows:
Several mouse strains have been established as
genetic models for human neurological diseases that
are known to cause swallowing impairment (dysphagia).
Examples include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(i.e., Lou Gehrig’s disease), Alzheimer’s disease,
Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease,
Niemann-Pick disease, muscular dystrophy, spinal
muscular atrophy, ataxia, Angelman syndrome, Down
syndrome, and Fragile-X syndrome. Common symptoms
of dysphagia in humans with these neurological

diseases include malnutrition, dehydration, and respiratory
complications, all of which may result in a poor quality of
life and contribute to death. The focus of Dr. Lever’s research
is to investigate each of these mouse models of neurological
disease to determine whether they develop characteristics
of human dysphagia and are suitable for translational
dysphagia research. This research is currently funded by the
NIH (NIDCD and NINDS). The ultimate goal is to identify
novel and effective treatments to improve the swallowing
function (and consequently the life-span and quality of life)
of individuals with various neurological diseases.

Professor Teresa Lever, Ph.D.
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
University of Missouri School of Medicine
Dr. Lever’s lab, which is located in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, is outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment for conducting electrophysiology
experiments, genotyping, behavioral phenotyping, general histology, immunohistochemistry, and a stereology system for bright
field and fluorescence microscopy.

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