The study of endolymph flow and hair cell control analysis simulation model through electromagnetic fields

Abstract

When rotational acceleration occurs in the body, the endolymph moves with velocity owing to rotational inertia, and the cupula is tilted by the force generated by the endolymph. When the cupula is tilted, hair cells are also tilted to create a sense of rotation. At the same time, a rotational signal is transmitted, and if the signal does not match the field of sight, various symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and headache appear. To resolve the discrepancy between the rotational signal and the sight caused by the tilt of hair cells such as motion sickness, in this study, we developed a vestibular finite element (FE) simulation model to control the angle of hair cells in the cupula. The simulation model consisted of a straight (linear) model and a model identical to the actual shape (curved) model. A fluid velocity of around 0.2 Hz, which is associated with motion sickness, was applied to the model to bend the cupula. [1] A magnetic field was applied by positioning the coil along the three axes based on the cupula and a current is passed to generate a Lorentz force. By increasing or decreasing the current, the displacement moved by the cupula according to the magnetic field was measured. As a result, in both models, the displacement of the cupula tends to decrease when the current is increased.