An Integrated Experimental-Computational Study of Vocal Fold Vibration in Type I Thyroplasty.

Subject-specific computational modeling of vocal fold (VF) vibration was integrated with an ex vivo animal experiment of type 1 thyroplasty to study the effect of the implant on the vocal fold vibration. In the experiment, a rabbit larynx was used to simulate type 1 thyroplasty, where one side of the vocal fold was medialized with a trans-muscular suture while the other side was medialized with a silastic implant. Vocal fold vibration was then achieved by flowing air through the larynx and was filmed with a high-speed camera.

Subject-Specific Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction Modeling of Rabbit Vocal Fold Vibration.

A full three-dimensional (3D) fluid-structure interaction (FSI) study of subject-specific vocal fold vibration is carried out based on the previously reconstructed vocal fold models of rabbit larynges. Our primary focuses are the vibration characteristics of the vocal fold, the unsteady 3D flow field, and comparison with a recently developed 1D glottal flow model that incorporates machine learning. The 3D FSI model applies strong coupling between the finite-element model for the vocal fold tissue and the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation for the flow.

Numerical and experimental investigations on vocal fold approximation in healthy and simulated unilateral vocal fold paralysis.

We have developed a novel surgical/computational model for the investigation of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) which will be used to inform future in silico approaches to improve surgical outcomes in type I thyroplasty. Healthy phonation (HP) was achieved using cricothyroid suture approximation on both sides of the larynx to generate symmetrical vocal fold closure. Following high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) capture, sutures on the right side of the larynx were removed, partially releasing tension unilaterally and generating asymmetric vocal fold closure characteristic of UVFP (sUVFP condition).