Dear colleagues,

The TOR-BSST© was developed through research funded by the Canadian Stroke Network (CSN).  There were several acute and rehabilitation hospitals that participated in this research over the course of 5 years (2001-2006). The full psychometric properties have been published in the March 2009 issue of Stroke. Click here for the PDF of the full article.

The CSN has also supported our  launch the TOR-BSST© tool for clinical use.  In particular, their support allowed us to prepare the teaching modules that accompany the TOR-BSST© tool and to translate these materials into five languages, namely: Canadian French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Japanese.  Our research has shown that health professionals who are trained with these teaching modules will be reliable and accurate administrators of the TOR-BSST©.

In order to ensure proper identification of increased dysphagia risk in stroke patients, we require all health professionals who plan to screen for dysphagia using the TOR-BSST© to be trained by a Speech-Language Pathology dysphagia expert using these tested training materials.

If you are a Speech-Language Pathology dysphagia expert and would like to offer the TOR-BSST© to health professionals at your facility please register with us.  We require that you participate in a 4-hour workshop on how to administer the TOR-BSST© training.  This workshop will also cover details on how to implement the dysphagia screening program within your facility.  We offer these workshops several times a year via webcast. For those who are located within the Greater Toronto Area, we also offer live training workshops.  Please register for more information.

If you are a health professional, or a dysphagia expert but not a Speech-Language Pathologist, and would like to find out how the TOR-BSST© might can be implemented in your facility, please register with us. Be sure to include the name of a Speech-Language Pathologist with whom you work.  We will work with you to get the program established at your facility.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact the Swallowing Lab, at swallowing.lab@utoronto.ca.  We will do our best to answer all enquiries within 7 days.

Thank you for your interest in our work.

Sincerely and with kindest regards,

Rosemary Martino, MA, MSc, PhD