A Biomechanical Model of the Human Tongue and Its Clinical Implications
MICCAI '98 Proceedings of the First International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention
An unstructured finite volume approach for structural dynamics in response to fluid motions
Computers and Structures
Simulation of the retroglossal fluid-structure interaction during obstructive sleep apnea
ISBMS'06 Proceedings of the Third international conference on Biomedical Simulation
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This paper aims to simulate the interaction between a simplified tongue replica with expiratory air flow considering the flow in the pharyngeal airway to be turbulent. A three-dimensional model with a low-Re SST turbulence model is adopted. An Arbitrary Eulerian-Lagrangian description for the fluid governing equation is coupled with the Lagrangian structural solver via a partitioned approach, allowing deformation of the fluid domain to be captured. Both the three-dimensional flow features and collapsibility of the tongue are presented. In addition, examining initial constriction height ranging from 0.8mm to 11.0mm and tongue replica modulus from 1.25MPa to 2.25MPa, the influence of both of these parameters on the flow rate and collapsibility of the tongue is also investigated and discussed. Numerical simulations confirm expected predisposition of apneic patients with narrower airway opening to flow obstruction and suggest much severe tongue collapsibility if the pharyngeal flow regime is turbulent compared to laminar.