Measurement of upper airway dimensions during inspiratory flow

Author

Jo, Seok Hyon ; Gaumond, Roger

Author_Institution

Physiol. Program, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA, USA

fYear

1997

fDate

21-22 May 1997

Firstpage

33

Lastpage

34

Abstract

We examined the effectiveness of two-microphone acoustic reflection pharyngometry in determining the changes in the human upper airway collapsible segment during steady inspiratory flow conditions. Differences in oral airway dimensions of a male subject, at 3 flow levels, were analyzed. The physiological data, then, was applied to a mathematical model of airway collapse, and the coefficient of collapse (C_c) was calculated. The collapsible segment was approximately 10 cm in length, and was located between the oro-pharyngeal junction (OPJ), and the glottis; the entire segment was susceptible to area decrease at a flow rate of 500 ml/s. C_c calculation indicated that full collapse would not occur during our experimental conditions, which was validated by pharyngometry

Keywords

acoustic wave reflection; area measurement; bioacoustics; biomechanics; biomedical equipment; biomedical measurement; microphones; physiological models; pneumodynamics; 10 cm; airway collapse; area decrease; collapse coefficient; flow levels; glottis; human upper airway collapsible segment; inspiratory flow; male subject; mathematical model; oral airway dimensions; oro-pharyngeal junction; physiological data; steady inspiratory flow conditions; two-microphone acoustic reflection pharyngometry; upper airway dimensions; Acoustic measurements; Acoustic reflection; Analysis of variance; Area measurement; Biomedical engineering; Fluid flow measurement; Humans; Magnetic resonance imaging; Microphones; Physiology;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Bioengineering Conference, 1997., Proceedings of the IEEE 1997 23rd Northeast

Conference_Location

Durham, NH

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3848-0

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NEBC.1997.594944

Filename

594944