Table 3.

Overview comparison of kinematic analysis and computational analysis of swallowing mechanics (CASM) research methods

	Kinematic analysis	CASM
Dependent variables	Univariate physical measurements of distance and time	Eigenvector-based mathematical representation of geometric morphology. Time can be factored in as a covariate
Multivariate analysis and results	Indicates statistical associations of multiple variables	Indicates structural changes in swallowing mechanics associated with multiple independent variables of interest
Applications	Can be used to show statistical differences in cohort or population studies	Can be used to visualize swallowing mechanics in patient-specific, cohort, or population studies
Limitations	Does not visually assess covariance of the multiple elements of swallowing mechanism	Temporal variables cannot be extracted to calculate time differences in swallowing events
Key advantage(s)	Results reported in actual time and distances are easy to comprehend. (Table 2a–b)	Vectors representing differences in multiple swallowing mechanics are visualized within anatomical context (Fig. 4a–d)