Patterns in pharyngeal airflow associated with sleep-disordered breathing.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To establish the feasibility of a noninvasive method to identify pharyngeal airflow characteristics in sleep-disordered breathing.

Methods

Four patients with sleep-disordered breathing who underwent surgery or used positive airway pressure devices and four normal healthy controls were studied. Three-dimensional CT imaging and computational fluid dynamics modeling with standard steady-state numerical formulation were used to characterize pharyngeal airflow behavior in normals and pre-and post-treatment in patients. Dynamic flow simulations using an unsteady approach were performed in one patient.

Results

The pre-treatment pharyngeal airway below the minimum cross-sectional area obstruction site showed airflow separation. This generated recirculation airflow r

SUBMITTER: Powell NB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5962348 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature