Predictive Biomechanical Reference Model

Anatomical Reference Model

The biomechanical model being developed is based on previous work done through the OPAL project. It includes a mixture of rigid bodies (e.g. hard palate, mandible, hyoid bone), finite-element models (e.g. tongue, soft palate), and various muscle models. The simulator is driven by the multi-body physics simulator ArtiSynth, and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Chewing and Swallowing with a Simple Bolus

Advanced Fluid-Based Bolus Model

Fluid flow will be used to model the movement of a liquid bolus. It may be used to predict aspiration, and biomechanical effects of bolus rheology on the tongue, palate, and other soft structures.

The OPAL region poses many challenges for fluid modeling, including the existence of multiple rigid and deformable boundaries, and the existence of a fluid/air interface.

Some techniques currently under consideration are

• Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
• Volume of fluids
• Level-sets with mass conservation
• Immersed boundary method