Table 3.
Computational Fluid Dynamics summarized outputs for all subjects.
| Subject | Maximum velocity (m/s) | Maximum Wall Shear Stress (Pa) | Minimum wall static pressure (Pa) | Airway resistance (Pa/Liter/minute) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | Inspiration | Expiration | Inspiration | Expiration | Inspiration | Expiration | Inspiration | Expiration |
| 1 | 4.63 | 4.99 | 0.77 | 0.97 | −10.5 | −17.4 | 0.23 | 0.38 |
| 2 | 7.79 | 7.64 | 1.63 | 1.38 | −28.9 | −41.2 | 0.85 | 0.98 |
| 3 | 7.51 | 7.46 | 1.58 | 1.03 | −33.5 | −41.7 | 0.45 | 0.87 |
| 4 | 8.98 | 8.71 | 1.56 | 1.24 | −42.3 | −55.7 | 0.71 | 1.20 |
| Mean±SD | 7.2±1.9 | 7.2±1.6 | 1.4±0.4 | 1.2±0.2 | −29±13 | −39±16 | 0.56±0.28 | 0.86±0.35 |
| Treated | Inspiration PRE / POST | Expiration PRE / POST | Inspiration PRE / POST | Expiration PRE / POST | Inspiration PRE / POST | Expiration PRE / POST | Inspiration PRE / POST | Expiration PRE / POST |
| 5 | 13.3/5.0 | 14.5/5.3 | 2.5/0.75 | 2.84/0.7 | −134/−9.0 | −170/−23 | 2.7/0.41 | 2.51/0.35 |
| 6 | 16.2/2.52 | 21.4/3.1 | 4.84/0.23 | 5.52/0.34 | −270/−2.7 | −408/−4.4 | 4.47/0.09 | 5.98/0.07 |
| 7 | 17.4/5.04 | 19.24/4.5 | 5.21/0.25 | 5.54/0.6 | −231/−9.0 | −316/−8 | 3.97/0.15 | 3.34/0.40 |
| 8 | 26.4/12.8 | 24.7/12.5 | 6.5/2.29 | 5.45/2.26 | −520/−125 | −465/−120 | 6.16/1.72 | 5.4/1.80 |
| Mean±SD | 18.3±5.7 / 6.3±4.5 | 20.0±4.3 / 6.4±4.2 | 4.8±1.7 / 0.9±1.0 | 4.8±1.3 / 1.0±0.9 | −289±164 / −36±59 | −340±129 /−39±55 | 4.3±1.4 / 0.6±0.8 | 4.3±1.6 / 0.7±0.8 |
| p-value1 | 0.73 | 0.72 | 0.39 | 0.71 | 0.82 | 0.99 | 0.9 | 0.66 |
| p-value2 | 0.002 | 0.006 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.005 | 0.02 |
Pharyngeal airway flow data as predicted by CFD using the steady-state RANS model for non-SDB controls and for SDB patients at pre-and post-treatment conditions during both inspiratory and expiratory phases at the peak flow rate of 30L/min.
PRE – Pre-treatment, POST – Post-treatment
Student’s t-test to test the difference between non-SDB controls and treated post-treatment values. There was no statistical difference between controls and post-treatment values.
Paired t-test to test the difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment values in the treated patients. There were statistically significant reductions in maximum velocity, maximum wall shear stress, minimum wall static pressure in the RP region, and airway resistance after treatment.