Secretion-Removal from the Respiratory System by a Combination of Oscillatory Flow and Acoustic Waves - Continuation

Mucus can block airways in many diseases. In the small airways of infants, this usually causes more severe illness. Penetrating and removing these mucus plugs is important, however, there are no effective methods to enable this. The goal of this research proposal is to develop a tool to penetrate and remove this mucus in the most effective way. We have already shown in the lab that the idea of breaking the mucus chunk using a combination of oscillating air flow and acoustic vibrations, works. However, during the course of the study, we found some new aspects to be dealt with, including 1. a flow that is induced by the acoustic source and 2. the rigidity of the airway pathway. These two aspects will be addressed in the continuation project.

We will study the most effective way to combine the two kind of waves using both computer simulations and experiments on models of airways. Using this information, we will develop a tool to be used on patients.