Investigation of fluid flow behavior in the human upper airway during inhalation

Despite the array of studies on respiratory flow modeling, very few experimental works have been conducted to validate the results of the models. The objective of this research sets the groundwork for a comprehensive study on upper airway mechanics. Briefly, this thesis documents the work which has been undertaken during this 8-month research program and is summarised as such. A method to reconstruct models of human organs using 3D Slicer,an open source software. A novel method to develop an airway phantom with highly complex geometry. Design and development of a flow circuit capable of simulating a range of flow conditions. Design and development of an organ grip to simulate moving wall boundary conditions. Design and development of a particle image velocimetry (PIV) tank and other accessories. Finally, the development of a computational model to determine and match the experimental flow field obtained using PIV. This research presents analogous results of the flow field determined from the PIV experiment and computational model in specific locations of the upper airway. Further studies to determine the effect of physiologically realistic complex airway deformation and flow using the developed tools are necessary to help improve our current knowledge in respiratory mechanics and flow.