Collaborative Research: Fluid Dynamics-based analysis towards control of sleep apnea

建议编号：1605232/1605434本研究的目的是探讨导致睡眠呼吸暂停的流体动力学机制，并开发基于流体动力学的干预策略。从根本上理解这种情况的原因非常重要，因为这种情况有时会导致死亡。本研究的目标是通过基于生理学的建模、基于物理的模拟、分析、验证和优化相结合的方法，在预测和控制人类鼾声方面推进生物流体动力学的基础知识。这种方法也适用于广泛的工程和生物系统，如降噪和发声。主要有两个目标：(1)开发一种揭示生物流固耦合问题的流动物理和发声机制的方法学；(2)利用该方法学研究最佳干预措施，以缓解涡流引起的鼾症，从而提高生活质量。拟议的工作是高度跨学科的，涉及生物学、物理学、生理学和工程学领域的基础科学问题。鼾声是一种声音信号，编码有丰富的人类呼吸功能信息。声音来自顺应性气道结构和由气道狭窄引起的瞬时旋涡脱落之间的复杂相互作用。然而，尽管在体外和临床上进行了大量的努力，但具体的鼾声来源机制仍然难以捉摸。基于物理的鼾声源数值研究将有望量化柔性气道的非线性响应与用于发声的呼吸涡旋动力学之间的关系。目前，鼾源诊断依赖于昂贵且耗时的程序，这些程序被外包给专门的分析实验室。这种在体内和体外进行鼾声诊断的挑战将使数值方法成为理想的研究工具。PIS建议系统地研究不同年龄和性别群体的鼾声产生机制，特别注意生物流体-结构相互作用的基本物理学和相关的声源。这将通过使用建模、仿真、分析、验证和优化相结合的方法来实现。这项拟议研究的结果可以为手术前提供指导方针，通过最大限度地减少系统的声音产生来缓解导致呼吸暂停的因素。这项工作的发现可以被声学专家和呼吸治疗师用来理解声源的产生和从生物来源控制声源。这项研究开发的理论将促进对鼾声来源的准确诊断和对鼾症或其他呼吸系统疾病患者的有效治疗。研究工作也将是多层次教育计划的中心主题：(1)私人投资机构将继续提供暑期本科生研究经验，以吸引和留住来自代表性不足群体的工程学学生；(2)拟议的方法将被纳入个人投资机构现有的关于生物激励流动和呼吸气溶胶动力学的研究生水平课程；以及(3)将开发鼾声专业的教育实验室课程，为高中生和大学生提供多学科培训和研究机会，并支持弗吉尼亚大学和密歇根大学的生物医学和生物启发工程项目

PI: Dong, Haibo / XI, JinxiangProposal Number: 1605232 / 1605434The goal of the proposed research is to investigate the fluid dynamics mechanisms that can lead to sleep apnea and to develop fluid dynamics-based strategies for intervention. The importance of understanding the reasons for this condition at a fundamental level is very significant, since this condition that can sometimes result in deaths.The goal of the proposed research is to advance the fundamental knowledge of biological fluid dynamics in prediction and control of human snoring through a combined physiology-based modeling, physics-based simulation, analysis, verification, and optimization approach. This approach is also applicable to a wide range of engineering and biological systems, such as noise reduction and phonation. There are mainly two objectives: (1) to develop a methodology for unveiling the flow physics and sound-producing mechanism of biological fluid-structure coupling problems and (2) to use the methodology for the investigation of optimal intervention procedures in order to ease the vortex-induced snore symptoms towards a better quality of life. The proposed work is highly interdisciplinary and involves fundamental scientific problems in the fields of biology, physics, physiology, and engineering. Snoring is an audible sign coded with richness of information about human respiratory functions. The sound comes from a complex interaction between compliant airway structures and the transient vortex shedding which is induced by the narrowing of the airway passage. However, the specific snore source mechanisms are still elusive, despite the significant in vitro and clinical efforts. Physics-based numerical investigation of the snore source will promise to quantify the relationship between the nonlinear response of the flexible airways and the respiratory vortex dynamics for sound generation. Currently, snore source diagnosis relies on expensive and time-consuming procedures that are outsourced to special analytical laboratories. Such challenges in performing in vivo and in vitro snore diagnosis will make the numerical methods ideal investigative tools. The PIs propose to systematically study the snore-producing mechanisms of different age and gender groups, paying particular attention to the underlying physics of biological fluid-structure interaction and associated sound sources. This is to be accomplished through the use of a combined modeling, simulation, analysis, validation, and optimization approach. The findings from the proposed research could provide pre-surgical guidelines for alleviating the apnea-causing factors by minimizing sound production of the system. Findings from this work could be used by acoustic experts and respiratory therapists for understanding the sound source production and control from its biological origin. The theories developed from this research will promote accurate diagnosis of snore sources and effective treatment of patients with snoring or other respiratory disorders. The research work will also be the central theme in a multi-level education program in which: (1) PIs will continue to provide summer undergraduate research experience to attract and retain engineering students from under-represented groups; (2) the proposed methodology will be incorporated into the PIs' existing graduate level course on bio-inspired flow and respiratory aerosol dynamics; and (3) an educational lab curriculum in snore specialty will be developed to provide multi-disciplinary training and research opportunities for high-school and college students and to support biomedical and bio-inspired engineering programs in both University of Virginia and Central Michigan University