Modelling aerodynamic sound in the airways of a human body: A possible diagnostic tool

The sound generated aerodynamically by a pillow-like body simulating an obstacle in the human airway is observed through a soft wall from outside the duct. It is intended to provide a physical basis for an attempted medical diagnostic technique for detecting an obstacle by observing the sound during breathing. So far at least two kinds of sound have been identified: One is sound of the half-jet flow formed downstream of the obstacle, and the other is sound due to unsteady motion of the separation point on the curved surface of the obstacle. For simulating the flow condition downstream of the vocal cords during inhalation, cases with an obstacle at various positions relative to a jet flow are also examined. In this case, the sound due to the downstream obstacle exhibits a complicated dependence on the geometry and flow parameters. Nevertheless, increase in the sound, or more correctly, deformation in the sound power spectrum, due to the presence of an obstacle is detectable from outside, opening up possibilities of its use as a diagnostic aid. Dedicated to the late Professor Itiro Tani on the occasion of 5ACFM, Taejon, Korea