Diagnostics: Modified Barium Swallow Study

Also known as:

• Cookie Swallow Study

•Speech Swallow Study

• MBSS or MBS

This study is different from the Barium Swallow Study.

What is a Barium Swallow study?

The Modified Barium Swallow Study focuses on the first steps in eating—from chewing and oral manipulation to the transfer of food and liquid from the throat to the esophagus. Conducted by speech-language pathologists and radiologists, this diagnostic procedure involves the patient ingesting different food and liquid mixtures with varying thicknesses. Barium is included in these mixtures because it shows up on x-ray imaging. As a fluoroscopy machine captures live images of the swallowing process, specialists can pinpoint irregularities such as timing issues, coordination problems, aspiration, and structural anomalies along the upper digestive tract—from the mouth to the beginning of the esophagus. The interpretation of a modified barium swallow study is performed separately by a radiologist and by a speech pathologist. The report generated by the speech pathologist is much more detailed and informative than the radiologist’s report.