Internal seminar by Prof. Mihai Mihaescu: On modelling biomechanics of obstructive airway disorders and voice

https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/67226177316
Meeting ID: 672 2617 7316

Abstract:

The state-of-the-art computational efforts on assessing airflow relevant to respiratory disorders and/or voice are often limited to simplified or non-realistic geometries; and one-way fluid-structure coupling formulations often neglecting unsteady flow, structural dynamics, and acoustics. Due to the multifactorial complexity of airway conditions and voice disorders, there is a limited knowledge on relevant physics associated with the relationships between the intermittent fluid flow, the upper respiratory tract, and the generated sound.

The current efforts at KTH-Engineering Mechanics on modeling biomechanics of obstructive airway disorders and voice are to be presented. The approach involves Large Eddy Simulations and Computational Aeroacoustics in both idealized configurations and subject-specific geometries. Study cases and data analyses are expose with relevance to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and human phonation, respectively. The evaluation and analysis of fluid flow and acoustic fields complements the medical imaging and clinical data. By performing the analysis in healthy subjects and patients; the abnormal features associated with airway disorders or voice production features are highlighted.

The long-term goal with this research is to enable a more robust, patient-specific, non-intrusive assessment method, by training neural networks with imaging data (e.g., MRI) and accurate data pertinent to the fluid flow interacting with the upper airway structure, and by combining such networks with sound pressure levels.

Acknowledgements:

Swedish Research Council VR grant 621-2012-4256; Swedish Research Council VR grant 2020-04857; Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC)

Bio:

Mihai Mihaescu is Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Docent in Fluid Mechanics (KTH, 2013), and AIAA Associate Fellow. In addition to establishing and leading a research group at KTH - Engineering Mechanics, he is serving as Director of the Competence Center for Gas Exchange (CCGEx) at KTH.

Dr. Mihaescu holds a Ph.D. Degree in Fluid Mechanics from Lund University (LTH, 2005). He carried out his postdoctoral studies (2005-2007) at the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Gas Dynamics and Propulsion Laboratory, at the University of Cincinnati (UC), USA. He continued at UC as Research Assistant Professor until 2011, when he joined KTH.

His research is focused on Computational Fluid Dynamics and Computational Aeroacoustics including code development and optimization to address problems in research areas like gas exchange processes related to combustion engines, turbomachinery & turbocharging, noise suppression methods, and biomedical fluid dynamics.