Computational modeling of child’s swallowing to simulate choking on toys

Abstract

ABSTRACTChoking occurs more frequently in children and senior citizens than in other groups. Obstruction materials are varied, including food or foreign bodies such as toys and coins. The number of choking accidents has not decreased because its mechanism remains unclear; the manner in which such accidents occur cannot be observed. The purpose of this study is to visualize choking on toys by using a computer simulation, Swallow Vision®, after creating a new child model of swallowing. An organ model for the simulation was created from the CT of a 9-month-old boy and videofluorographic images during swallowing for a 9-month-old girl. The organ models were defined as hyperelastic and contained particles that moved by forced displacement. The toy models were spheres with diameters of 10 and 15 mm and different coefficients of friction and restitution. The applied calculation method was the Hamiltonian Moving Particle Simulation. The results demonstrated that the simulation could visualize how a toy model obstructed the upper airway in the pharynx and larynx. Moreover, the ball size and the coefficients of friction and restitution affected the site obstructed. As choking accidents were successfully visualized using the Swallow Vision®, The computer simulation is expected to advance research on understanding the choking mechanism.