Biography
Ahmed Al-Jumaily
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Acoustics & Vibration Role in Lung Therapies
Abstract:
Lung therapies vary between pharmaceutical and physical treatments depending on the nature of the diseases. The latter has gained enormous applications in particular in managing airway constrictions such as during an asthmatic attack. Pressure oscillation (PO) is a form of acoustic/vibration waves superimposed on the breathing cycle. In spite of the fact that PO has been used for lung diagnostics, it has been an innovative and effective way of treating several lung ailments including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), asthma and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). While lab experiments have demonstrated that length oscillations can reduce forces in contracted airway smooth muscles which are the main driving mechanism for asthma attack, it has been clinically proven that PO can modulate the upper airways to reduce the Apnea Index when used with the continuous positive airway (CPAP) device to treat OSA. Further, it has improved lung compliance, inflammatory stresses and surfactant function on patients with RDS. Professor Al-Jumaily will highlight how engineering innovation can convert acoustics/vibration principles to lung therapies and how this could be expanded further to the cell level to achieve asthma therapy.
Biography:
Ahmed M. Al-Jumaily, is currently a Professor of Biomechanical Engineering and the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Technologies at the Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. He holds a PhD and M.Sc. from the Ohio State University, USA and a B.Sc. from the University of Baghdad. He is a FELLOW member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), and a member of 11 more international professional societies. He is the Editor of the ASME monograph series-Biomedical and Nanomedical Technologies and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, and has been on the editorial and refereeing boards for several international journals. He has published more than 300 papers in international journals and conference proceedings including two ASME books on Vibration and Acoustics in Biomedical Applications and a third one on CPAP devices. He has supervised more than 90 postgraduate students in biomedical applications, vibrations, biomechanics, and electroactive polymers. During his academic career he has forged strong alliances between academia and industries; in particular in the medical devices area, which has resulted in many successful grants and contracts with companies and research organizations. Al-Jumaily’s current research focuses on biomedical applications with particular interest in the application of vibration and acoustics to airways constriction therapies and artery non-invasive diagnostics.