Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Aerodynamic and Elasticity Forces During Vocal Fold Vibration.
Elias Sundström, Liran Oren, Charles Farbos de Luzan and 2 others
PMID 36180275WHAT IT FOUND
Computer models show that air vortices inside the vocal folds create negative pressure that drives closure.
This aerodynamic force exceeds tissue elasticity at the moment of maximum sound intensity, explaining why vertical stiffness gradients are critical for voice efficiency.
Key findings
01Intraglottal flow separation vortices create negative pressure near the top of the vocal folds during closure, which increases the rate of airflow change (MFDR).
02At the phase of maximum flow declination, the aerodynamic force acting on the fold wall is 9% and 20% higher than the elastic recoil force for low and high subglottal pressures, respectively.
03Maintaining a vertical stiffness gradient in the vocal fold tissue promotes the formation of these vortices and improves vocal efficiency, which is relevant for surgical medialization procedures.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The model did not include a vocal tract, so it cannot account for how sound reflections from the mouth and throat might change the airflow. The geometry and tissue properties were based on an excised canine larynx and an idealized human model, which may not perfectly match a living human larynx. The simulation stopped after 11 vibration cycles due to computational limits, which may not capture long-term stability. The model could not separate the aerodynamic force caused by the vortices from the force caused by air following the wall.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial or personal interests that could bias the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as a clinical trial proving that a specific surgical technique works better than another. This is a computational validation study using canine data; it supports a theoretical mechanism for why vertical stiffness matters, but it does not provide direct evidence of patient outcomes from human surgery.