Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, Sakarya, Turkey.
Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2024 Feb;23(1):335-348. doi: 10.1007/s10237-023-01778-3. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
Various therapeutic methods are employed to facilitate the clearance of secretions accumulated in the respiratory tracts of individuals with lower respiratory tract disorders. High-frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) device, designed to apply variable amplitude and frequency vibrations to the individuals' chests, stands out among these therapies. In this study, the effectiveness of this treatment method was investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) on the generated mucus-obstructed bronchial geometry. The conducted analyses compared the effects of vibrations acting in the axial, radial, and tangential directions on the clearance of mucus, which exhibits non-Newtonian flow behavior with shear-thinning properties. Simultaneously, the effects of changes in vibration amplitude and frequency, pressure differentials, fluid properties, and ciliary movements on the flow were separately examined and interpreted. The findings demonstrate that ciliary movements are insufficient in mucus-accumulated airways, applied vibrations enhance mucus clearance, and potential improvements in flow are quite sensitive to boundary conditions.
各种治疗方法被用于促进清除下呼吸道疾病患者呼吸道中积聚的分泌物。高频胸壁振荡（HFCWO）装置是这些治疗方法中的一种，它旨在对患者的胸部施加可变幅度和频率的振动。在这项研究中，使用计算流体动力学（CFD）对生成的黏液阻塞性支气管几何形状进行了数值研究，以研究这种治疗方法的有效性。进行的分析比较了在轴向、径向和切向方向上振动对黏液清除的影响，黏液表现出具有剪切稀化特性的非牛顿流行为。同时，分别检查和解释了振动幅度和频率、压力差、流体特性和纤毛运动变化对流动的影响。研究结果表明，纤毛运动在下呼吸道黏液积聚的气道中作用不足，施加的振动可增强黏液清除，而流动的潜在改善对边界条件非常敏感。
