On this episode of The Swallow Your Pride Podcast, Theresa sits down with Cari Manypenny, MS, CCC-SLP, Associate Director of Medical Affairs at Phagenesis, and Alyssa Cook, MA, CCC-SLP, Therapy Development Manager at Phagenesis, to talk about pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES) and what it means for medical SLPs treating post-stroke dysphagia. Cari and Alyssa both made the transition from acute care clinical practice to the medical device industry, and they bring a deeply clinical perspective to the conversation.
They cover the basics of what PES actually is, how the Phagenyx device works, and why it is fundamentally different from neuromuscular electrical stimulation. They dig into the science behind the therapy, including the 30-plus years of foundational neuroscience research that led to its development, the nine randomized controlled trials in stroke populations, and what it means that PES was included in the 2026 AHA/ASA Stroke Guidelines. They also talk through patient selection, what treatment actually looks like session-to-session, how hospitals and SLP teams can bring this technology into their institutions, and why Alyssa believes PES gives medical SLPs a bigger seat at the multidisciplinary table.
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Website: https://www.phagenesis.com/
Cari Manypenny, M.S., CCC-SLP, is Associate Director, Medical Affairs at Phagenesis and a medical speech-language pathologist with 17 years of experience specializing in neurogenic dysphagia and stroke rehabilitation. Her work focuses on clinician education, dysphagia innovation, and supporting evidence-based swallowing rehabilitation.
Alyssa Cook, M.A., CCC-SLP, is Therapy Development Manager at Phagenesis and a medical speech-language pathologist with extensive experience working with medically complex and high acuity patient populations since 2015, including completion of the Johns Hopkins Medicine SLP Advanced ICU Fellowship. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes and advancing the role and visibility of medical speech-language pathologists within the healthcare community.
