---
title: Reduce drooling and improve swallowing
nct_id: NCT04664634
phase: PHASE3
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: Northwestern University
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT04664634"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04664634"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:05:08.316Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Reduce drooling and improve swallowing

**Goal (in five words):** Reduce drooling and improve swallowing

**Official Title:** A Digital Therapeutic Platform for Swallowing and Drooling Problems in Parkinson's

**Trial ID:** [NCT04664634](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04664634)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** PHASE3
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** Northwestern University
- **Target Enrollment:** 60 participants
- **Start Date:** 2025-04-01
- **Completion Date:** 2026-05-31
- **Conditions:** Dysphagia, Parkinson Disease
- **Interventions:** Aria Sensor
- **Intervention Types:** DEVICE

## Summary For Families

Aims to reduce drooling and improve swallowing safety and control for people with Parkinson's who have mild to moderate sialorrhea. It uses the Aria Sensor, a wearable digital therapeutic platform that senses swallowing and saliva events and delivers real-time feedback and guided exercises to help retrain swallowing and saliva management, working alongside your usual Parkinson's medications rather than replacing them. Assessments are done while you are in the "on" phase of your medication so results reflect your best motor function. Looking for English-speaking adults 22 and older with idiopathic Parkinson's at any Hoehn and Yahr stage, a ROMP-Saliva C score of 11 or higher, ability to use the sensor, and no recent aspiration pneumonia, active drooling treatments, feeding tubes, or certain allergies.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 22 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion criteria. Age ≥22. English speaking. Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease of any Hoehn and Yahr stage (I-V), determined by a neurologist.

Mild to moderate sialorrhea defined as a score of ≥ 11\* on the Radboud Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson's Disease (ROMP)-Saliva (C) subscale Subjects must be in the "on" phase of their medication during all study assessments. The "on" phase is defined as the period when the participant's medication is at peak effectiveness, minimizing motor fluctuations and enabling optimal motor function.

Study Exclusion Criteria. History of aspiration pneumonia within the past 12 months. Unable to swallow saliva without a maneuver. Actively receiving treatment for swallowing disorders or sialorrhea. Current alcohol/drug abuse. Diagnosed with neurological disorders other than PD. End stage dementia. History of head and neck cancer or surgery. Unable to demonstrate competency with the user-friendly sensor platform technology.

Known allergy to contrast material used during MBSS. Known allergy to sensor adhesive. Indwelling tracheostomy tube. Nasogastric (NG) feeding tube. Currently pregnant.
```

## Locations (1)

- Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States _(42.0411, -87.6901)_
  - Kate Davidson — (CONTACT)

## Central Contacts

- Ankita Bhutada — (CONTACT) — 251-622-7112 — ankita.bhutada@northwestern.edu
- Kate M Davidson — (CONTACT) — (803) 413-2435 — kate.humphries@northwestern.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT04664634*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT04664634*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04664634*