Intraglottal velocity and pressure measurements in a hemilarynx model

Abstract

Determining the mechanisms of self-sustained oscillation of the vocal folds requires characterization of intraglottal aerodynamics. Since most of the intraglottal aerodynamics forces cannot be measured in a tissue model of the larynx, most of the current understanding of vocal fold vibration mechanism is derived from mechanical, analytical, and computational models. In the current study, intraglottal pressure measurements are taken in a hemilarynx model and are compared with pressure values that are computed form simultaneous velocity measurements. The results show that significant negative pressure is formed near the superior aspect of the folds during closing, which is in agreement with previous measurements in a hemilarynx model. Intraglottal velocity measurements show that the flow near the superior aspect separates from the glottal wall during closing and may develop into a vortex, which further augments the magnitude of the negative pressure. The intraglottal pressure distributions are computed by solving the pressure Poisson equation using the velocity field measurements and show good agreement with the pressure measurements. The match between the pressure computations and the pressure measurements validates the technique, which was also used in previous study to estimate the intraglottal pressure distribution in a full larynx model.