The Visible Human Project (VHP) of the National Library of Medicine has catalyzed the development of advanced visualization software that has aided in anatomy education and has been an invaluable resource to biomedical researchers. It has aided in the development of numerous technologies, with applications spanning from improving imaging technology to simulating surgical procedures. Our long-term goal is to develop a comparable """"""""Audible Human Project"""""""" (AHP). This would accurately simulate the production, transmission and noninvasive measurement (for example using stethoscopes) of naturally-occurring sounds associated with cardiovascular, pulmonary and gastro-intestinal function. It would also model externally introduced sounds, for example via percussion at the skin surface. Such a comprehensive tool would have a significant impact on medical education and research. It could catalyze the development of new inexpensive, portable auscultative methods, as well as more advanced multimode acoustic imaging modalities. From an educational perspective, recent studies have emphasized the continued importance of skilled auscultation in medicine and the fact that this skill is in decline among younger physicians. The AHP could help provide a more effective educational experience. A student would not just listen to audio recordings. He or she would be able to interactively vary anatomy and pathology, as well as sensor position, type and contact pressure, so as to hear, """"""""see"""""""" and """"""""feel"""""""" (if integrated within a haptic environment) the results and associate them with quantifiable metrics.
The specific aim of this R03 application is to develop and experimentally validate an upper torso acoustic model focused on the pulmonary system. This model will simulate breath sound generation, transmission and measurement via contact sensors placed on the torso surface. It will also simulate the transmission and measurement of externally introduced sound via the airways or via percussion of the torso surface. Subject- specific torso acoustic models will be generated for 3 healthy human subjects (males) based on x-ray CT images. Detailed acoustic measurements on these same subjects will then be used to validate the simulation model. Once validated this modeling approach will be used to develop an acoustic torso model for the visible human male of the VHP available via the NLM. This torso component of a """"""""audible human male"""""""" will then be made available to all via a webserver maintained in the PI's laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. To accomplish this, a boundary element (BE) based computational code that simulates sound propagation in biological tissues, including the lung airways and parenchymal tissue, will be enhanced by incorporating lung sound source generation and coupling it to a finite element model of the surrounding ribcage and soft tissue region, and by including coupling to skin-mounted sensors, like stethoscopes, which can have their own complex dynamic behavior. ? ? ?
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